SparkPlug
by AzureF
Summary: It has been fifty years since the war, the great war at which the Irken Empire fell and the Humans turned the tables on our kind. Enslaved, downtrodden, beaten into submission, there is only one hope left for the Irken Race... Me.
1. Reality is a Pain

**READ FIRST: **

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of **ChibiXzaide**. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery (and a rather gory scene later on). It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her._

**IMPORTANT NOTE!  
**_This fic is an EXTREME AU (Author's Universe). Irkens, in the way both my friend and I have molded them here, have no Pak's, nor do they have Squeedily whatevers... mostly becuase no one can agree on how to spell it. In fact, they're a lot like humans in nature, right down to the fact that they reproduce in the normal way and such instead of the incubation tubes from the show. They still have antennae and everything, and green skin, and are allergic to water, but their height has increased slightly... more around four or five feet instead of three. So there. I'm not asking you to like the changes, but if you can appreciate a good story, I promise you won't even notice them!_

_Also... there is NO MENTION OR INVOLVEMENT of ANY characters in the show. I'm sorry, but there isn't. _

_**DISCLAIMER!**__  
__**I do not own Irkens. Jhonen does.**__  
This will be the only disclaimer posted. So listen to it well.

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_

There was never any chance for my people… Never any way we could fight them. They were too unpredictable, and too reckless. Perhaps even they were too lucky; I'm not really sure. All I know is that no matter our numbers, no matter how organized we had been, they'd always found a way to overpower us.

Perhaps they weren't as stupid and primitive as we had once believed… Our arrogance was our downfall; our steadfast knowledge that every other creature in the universe was beneath us, that none could stand up to the might of our empire. But though we had sent teams in, though we had learned of their history, seen quite clearly the signs that they, in the entire span of their species' existence, had always fought impossible odds and came out of their battles the victor, we held the certainty that it would be an easy victory. We were blind to the warnings. We were drunk on our conquest of the universe.

_We_ were the stupid ones… and we paid the ultimate price.

Our entire race… disbanded, broken… all the power of our vast empire scattered to the four winds and seized by the enemy. They learned too fast, they took our technology, they modified everything to make it better, and they did at a pace none of our great scientists could match. Our languages, our codes, deciphered, broken; our ambushes were ambushed before we knew what was happening. We had gotten in over our heads, indeed. On an insane chance a single unit of theirs would appear in the midst of an entire battalion of ours, and the fighting would go on for days, and yet still _they_ were the ones to fire the final shot, and ours was the last ship to fall.

Every individual of my people knows this story… knows how the mighty Irken Empire was defeated. I wasn't there… not really, being the young child I was, but I learned the story from my grandmother before she was taken away. I barely remember her, now, and I don't remember anything of my mother and father anymore. I heard that they were killed in battle, the both of them. At least they didn't die begging for their lives.

I bet the humans would have loved that.

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"You, Truck-Driver! Get your lazy ass up from bed and get to your job! I'll not have another shipment late because you're a fucking idiot!" 

I was suddenly hit rather forcefully in the stomach by a very heavy bag. My eyes flew open, and I gave a gasp as the air _whooshed_ from my lungs. The rather lacking cot I was lying on creaked threateningly, shifting down a bit almost as if it was going to break, and I tensed, praying that it wouldn't. I knew that if the cot were destroyed, even if it wasn't my fault, I would be forced to take a new bed of straw without even a blanket to keep me warm in the incredibly cold nights of this area of Earth. I could barely stand the cold of this place as it was, seeing as 'my' room wasn't heated in the least, and the floors and walls were made of cement, something that was cold and _stayed_ cold no matter what the season.

"Yes, sir…" I gasped out as soon as my lungs had enough air to do so, my voice a little strained as I lifted the heavy bag off me, moving to get up from the again creaking cot. The other two cots along the walls were empty; it figured that those selfish brats would leave me here without waking me. It gave them a chance to get away with slacking off, seeing as I was the one the human would be watching closely.

"Don't 'Yes, sir' me! Get to work!!"

I nodded meekly, moving to stand as well as I could, and shivering a bit as the cold air of the room hit me even harder through my threadbare shirt and pants. It was nearly winter in this place, and the nights were doubly cold because of it. I certainly wasn't looking forward to the snow falling… The shoes we were given were only the things humans had worn out too much for them to consider wearing anymore, and most of them had gaping holes and almost no soles left to them. With one last shiver I kept my eyes lowered to the floor, my antennae pressed against my head in a clear sign of submission as I moved to walk past my master and to my work. I gave a small gasp, however, as a strong hand slammed down on my shoulder with a crushing grip, steadily squeezing so hard that I had to bite my tongue not to cry out in pain. As it was, I could nearly feel the bone cracking under the skin.

"What does a slave _always_ say to its master after an order is given, you filthy wretch?"

I chanced looking up a bit, my eyes wide a frightened as I knew I had been caught in a trap the human had obviously planned out for me, if his almost violently eager grin had anything to do with it. My master was very strong, and very cruel. I had seen what types of punishments he could deal out at a whim, for such small offenses as accidentally burping in his presence. I gulped, the pain in my shoulder beginning to make me a bit woozy as I tried to keep my voice steady enough to answer.

"Y….y-yes, sir…. Sir…. W-w-we should always s-say… 'yes, sir'…."

"You'd better remember that, you alien slime. Now get to work, before I decide you're too worthless for me to keep around!"

"Yes, sir!" I gasped as he finally released my shoulder, the pain actually sharpening acutely before finally beginning to fade once more. My master had almost broken the bone this time… I wouldn't have been surprised if I had a fracture, but of course I would still be expected to lift the loading boxes and every other heavy piece of work, regardless. Such was the life of a slave.

Resigning myself, I began forward, but gave a yelp as a pain flared up in my back, forcing me forwards and off balance. With a rather nasty grating sound, I fell to the hard concrete, my hands being scraped raw on the stone as I had attempted to catch myself, breathing in gasps from the pain that I knew was only the start of my day.

"Get up off that floor, you clumsy fucker! I don't feed you unless you work!" my master was standing above me once more, just smirking in a cruel way as he watched my pain, obviously enjoying it. There was no doubt in my mind that he had kicked me as I was walking past him; he had done it before, and all I could do was get back up and hope that he wouldn't kick me back down or keep me there with a foot on my back. I was lucky this time, as he let me get up.

"Yes, sir!" I said again, not wanting him to find any other excuses to cause me more pain. Already my breathing was becoming a little irregular, a sure sign that I had been hurt more than I knew at the moment.

"All those shipments had better be _early_, or you'll get no food for three days! Now get the hell out of here!"

"Yes, sir!!" with a small whimper that was just quiet enough to hide from the human, I broke into a very painful jog, throwing open the door and going out into the chill, overcast outside of Earth. I stopped a few steps out, my normally lowered eyes trailing upwards in horror as I saw the very threatening clouds overhead, knowing exactly what they would mean for us slaves. Already the wind was blowing hard and cold from the direction of the storm, and I could almost feel the burning already on my skin from the high humidity. I trembled lightly; my master wanted all the shipments done _early_ in _this_ weather?! When he didn't allow us the chemical soaks that would make us resistant to water effects?

"Hey, look who's finally up! If it isn't the worthless royal, eh, Jeran?"

"Ha! Exalted _Prince_ Kiros! What, the master didn't like you taking your beauty sleep? Teach you to think you're better than us, _Truck-Driver_!"

I finally looked down again as I heard two voices that I dreaded almost more than the master's. Strutting towards me, they looked like some strange gigantic insects compared to the landscape, certainly out of place in a way that only Irkens could ever be. I shook my head slightly, not wanting to get into a fight with the either of them. Trying to be as professional as I could, I held up the bag I was carrying with me. The bag was special to me, something that held the things I used for my job, and also everything I owned, including the last broken bits of reminders of my mother and father that, for some reason or other, my master had allowed me to keep.

"No… no, I never did!" I was trying to be reasonable, but as they kept coming, I knew everything I was trying was in vain… even though both Jeran and Gorit were smaller than me; they were also older, and definitely more experienced at beating others. With their appearance, coupled with the impending rain… it was more than certain that I wasn't going to be eating for the next few days, "I just want to do my job, guys. Please, let me do my job."

Jeran snorted; he was the more sadistic of the two, and where Gorit was more a follower, Jeran was a leader, and took no notice of my rather pathetic pleas. Yes, even I admit that I was being pathetic. He just kept coming, snatching up the bag and holding it out to Gorit, who took it with a chuckle of glee. I tried to snatch it back, but Jeran slammed a hand into my chest, forcing me back, and over a large rock that I hadn't seen, causing me to fall backwards and hit the cement side of our 'quarters' hard, knocking the wind out of me.

"I've got no use for snobs, royal. Don't even pretend that you wanna do your job for that _fat hog_ any more than the rest of us do."

Perhaps if I had had any breath to speak with, perhaps if I had had any real control of my body other than to sink down to the ground with a look of horror and fear on my face as I stared past Jeran, I might have stopped him before he could finish his sentence. But as it was, all I could do was watch as Jeran's look rapidly changed from cruel victory to surprise, pain, and terror as a very strong, very large hand clamped itself hard around his neck, squeezing until he was making choking, gasping sounds, trying to claw at the hand that was cutting off his air supply.

"'Fat hog', eh? '_Fat hog_'?!" my eyes became even wider, locked onto the face of my master, something I normally didn't dare look at, but now his rough, rugged, and battle-scarred face was red with fury, his immense bulk a virtual powerhouse that could inflict some of the worst pain imaginable. Our master was fairly old by human standards, somewhere above sixty, and he had fought in the original war between our peoples when he was sixteen. He knew every way possible to torture an Irken, and he was always looking for a chance to do so. I did not envy Jeran at all, especially not with the next hissing sentence, "We'll see how disrespectful you feel after some time in the screamer bin, you little ass-fucker." Barely loosening his hold enough to let Jeran begin breathing again, he actually lifted the Irken into the air with one heavily muscled arm, turning his raging glare to the two of us left basically shaking in terror, now, "You, Truck-Driver! I _told_ you to get to work! Don't let me catch you slacking again! And Truck-Loader, give that bag back to him before I decide you can _join_ your little 'friend'! Half rations tonight for the both of you!"

"Yes, sir!" we both said in unison, our voices a little shrill from fear, but strong from the force of our need to show our master that we would do as he said. Not really pausing, I sprang up and grabbed my bag from Gorit before he could even move to give it to me, sprinting as fast as I could manage through the dusty, cleared out area of the loading strips, heading for the trucks. Hurriedly on the way, I reached into my bag, fumbling about a bit before I managed to catch the ring that held the keys to every truck on the strip, pulling it out and almost ripping the side of the worn bag even more than it had been with the sharp keys.

I came within sight of the trucks just as I heard a boom of thunder sound far in the distance, and my antennae twitched at the sound. I looked up at the sky fearfully, my eyes still a little wide from what I'd very narrowly avoided before, scanning the clouds and deciding that I didn't have too much time to waste. Leaping into a slightly faster sprint, I leapt up to the first truck, a heavy, slow thing used for carting large shipments, which was what my first order was, according to the paper set on the steering wheel. Closing the door behind me, I immediately started it up. The truck rumbled to life loudly, the entire cab shaking with the power of the engine, and I couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief as I began my job. As long as I did this well today, I would be alright. Master had said half-rations… that meant that he was going to give us food, today.

…Jeren and Gorit hadn't bothered to wake me up when I slept through the alarm… that meant that I had missed breakfast, and now I groaned slightly as my stomach growled, the emptiness almost painful. Master didn't feed us much as it were, and missing breakfast meant that I would have to do a full day of good work on an empty stomach just to get half of what I normally would, which was a few slices of bread and Irken meat of various levels of spoilage, and perhaps a few pieces of Earth fruit that didn't have juices that would burn us. It wasn't much, but it did keep us alive… I only wished that I wasn't so hungry right now…

It would keep me alert, I supposed. I needed to be alert to keep from getting too badly burned by the rain coming. It would require a very clever series of intricate parking and manipulation of doors and such to make it possible, but I knew I could do it. I wasn't a truck driver for nothing, after all.

"Truck-Driver! Finally starting your day, eh?" I sighed slightly at the jeering yell from across the loading area. Of course I could never expect to be left alone at all by those humans that worked for my master. It wasn't as if they couldn't drive the trucks if I were a little late, but of course they took that time to slack off, just like how Jeren and Gorit did. It made me wonder why _I_ was the one always getting punished….

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of a drop of rain hitting the windshield of the truck, and I grimaced, my antennae flattening in irritation. Damn rain… always coming sooner than you wanted it to. I was hoping to at the very least be able to load the truck without having to skitter under cover like a scared rat, but I guess I'd have to endure the taunting jeers of the humans once again. Sometimes I just felt like getting rid of them somehow… or getting away. But of course I had nowhere to go, and an Irken stuck on Earth with no master is just target practice for any human that may walk by. More so an Irken that had dared to strike out… I'd be lucky to even get past the door before I was shot on the spot.

Not to mention in this season, without having any chemical baths, it was just plain fucking _insane_.

The shipment warehouse wasn't too far away from the truck area, thankfully, and the rain hadn't gotten too bad as of yet. I carefully pulled the truck up to the loading doors, furrowing my brow in concentration as I looked out the side mirrors. If I did this right, I would be able to load the truck from inside without having to go over a gap where the rain would come through. But I had to make very certain that I didn't scrap the back of the truck against the wall… If I did… well… Master wasn't in a good mood today, and I'd be lucky if I came out of the beating able to walk. A slave that damaged their Master's property was almost as doomed as one that struck out against the humans…

Finally, I judged that it was as good as I was going to get, and I stopped the truck, shifting it into Park and turning off the engine. I didn't want to waste gas, especially if it would take a while to load up the truck. I was only thankful that the enormous flatbed had been covered on all sides by a tarp, and I wouldn't have to keep darting out into the now pounding rain to set the boxes carefully on top of one another, then back to get another box.

I actually doubted I would have been able to live through that… For all the Master's faults, at least he didn't particularly WANT us dead. That would lose him money, and as long as he had an investment and use in us, we were to be kept alive.

That changed if one of us were injured too badly to work, however….

I was reminded of my still very sore and jolting shoulder, grimacing again as my antennae gave one violent twitch in reaction to it. If that was bad… I shuddered to think of what would happen to me. In fact, I just plain shuddered, as I was gripping the handle of the truck door, steeling myself for the mad dash that I would have to perform to get out and into the warehouse. There was a large tarp in the seat beside me… a precaution for these types of situations that were held in every truck. I grabbed it, forcefully ignoring my injured shoulder as I threw it over me and threw the door open, jumping down to the wet ground. My voice escaped me in a yelp as I suddenly realized to my intense dismay and agony I had jumped into a puddle, and my worn shoes, already ragged and filled with holes, instantly became soaked. I fought back a cry of pain as I dashed for the door to the warehouse, going in and slamming it behind me, throwing off my shoes as fast as I was able to and trying desperately to dry my smoking, burned feet off.

The pain was horrible, worse than anything else I could ever imagine; even my Master's frequent beatings, and I threw the tarp off, as well, trying to keep any lingering water that was on that from touching my skin. There was the loud sound of laughter off to my right, and I lifted my head, glaring half-heartedly at the human workers, knowing that that would likely get me in trouble, but the acid-like burning fuzzed my mind so that I couldn't give a shit if I had wanted to. My teeth grit very hard, but slowly I began to relax as the water either evaporated due to the dryness inside or burned itself to nothing on my skin.

I carefully ran my hands over my feet, wincing and flattening my antennae to my head, as they were incredibly tender, checking to make certain that the water hadn't done too much damage. Apparently, I had been lucky… There were only a few small spots where it had burned any deeper than the first few layers of skin, and my hands wiped away that blood pretty easily. It was a good thing Irkens healed fast… If my feet didn't go through any more damage, they would probably be most of the way healed by the time I got back to my room at the end of the day.

Straightening, I noticed two of the humans approaching me, and immediately regretting my glare from earlier I lowered my eyes in submission, going to get a towel and move my shoes to a small heating register, where the warm, dry air would dry them out as I loaded the truck. Of course, my now meek behavior had no effect on the humans, and one slapped me hard on my injured shoulder, making me gasp as I immediately stopped moving.

"Hey, there, Truck-Driver. I noticed that you were getting a little snippy with us, weren't you?" the human was laughing a bit in between his words, obviously enjoying this. The other was barely keeping a straight face, I could see, when I looked to him from the corner of my eye. One thing I was grateful for about being Irken is that our eyes had no pupils, making it very difficult for humans to tell exactly where we were looking. It was perhaps just a small form of resistance to them, I guess… to look as if I were paying attention to them when my actual gaze was elsewhere…

That trick didn't work on the Master, though…

"Oh, yes he was…" the other human decided to chime in, giving a smug little sneer. Obviously I was not expected to answer any of their questions as of yet, "Don't think we didn't see that glare you gave us, _Irken_." That was perhaps the worst insult a human could come up with to call us, seeing as how much they hated the Irken Empire… or what was once the Irken Empire, was still very strong. Being called an Irken-lover was possibly the worst insult a human could ever give another human, enough of one that it could easily incite a fight to the death.

"Y'know what? I think our little alien friend deserves to be taught… some _manners_…." The first human grinned, and I cringed somewhat, seeing his hand come up, forming into a fist. This _so_ wasn't my day….

"Steve, stop that stupid shit and get back to work!" another human came up, larger than the others, his hand gripping the 'Steve' human's arm at the wrist before it could come down to strike me, "Do you want to piss off the boss by beating _his_ slaves? The shipment is already going to be late as it is, so I suggest you do what you're paid for." His tone got a little lower, as if he was passing some very important and touchy information, "The boss is already in a bad mood today… he's using the screamer bin to punish one of his slaves right now."

The 'Steve' human stopped at that, his sneer fading as he looked a little nervous, before masking it with righteous anger, tearing his hand away from the lager human and glaring at me, "One of these days, you little _insect_. One of these days I'm gonna kick your ass." He was taking the other human's advice. I relaxed a bit from my tense, braced posture, breathing a quiet sigh of relief as I watched him, and then the other human, go back to start loading boxes. The first human glared down at me, now, his eyes hard and cold, obviously not having stopped the other for any iota of regard for my health.

"Get back to work, fucking alien. I'm not getting a pay cut because of you're slacking off!"

I nodded once, meekly and submissively, before I darted off to the loading area, checking the paper I had brought with me in one of my tattered pockets as I identified what shipment was going up first. My eyes narrowed a bit as I read it, then re-read it, finally making a groaning sigh as I stopped at the area where it was, just looking at the massive pile of rolled up carpets before me.

This was gonna hurt… a lot.

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_Review or DIE!_


	2. Accidental Revelations

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

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_

"Truck-Driver! Get that last shipment in and you're done for the day!" I let out a long, thankful breath at that call, nodding once in confirmation towards the human that had called out as I loaded the last box onto the truck, carefully skirting the rain that was still pattering lightly through the gap that I had to cross, but nonetheless receiving a few painful burning points across my shoulders and head, anyway. It didn't really matter all that much, anymore; I was more than used to the rain burning by now, and had resigned myself to it.

Closing the back of the truck, I gathered my tarp and keys and threw the cover over my head, opening the door out of the warehouse. Large puddles were covering the ground in the short distance to the truck, almost mocking me, turning the ground into a virtual quagmire of slippery mud. I had to plan this carefully, or I would slip and fall in a puddle, and though I had resigned myself to the rain, I definitely hadn't resigned myself to burning my entire body almost to the muscle. I thought it out as I marked the areas that looked both reachable and not as slippery in my mind, tensing a bit, before I darted out of cover, taking one leap to the first point, almost slipping, but just barely managing to catch myself.

That was close…

Being more careful, now, I made another small leap to the next 'safe' area, hopping from island to island as I made my way to the door of the truck. My caution was at least fruitful, because I didn't nearly slip again, and the tarp was keeping the rain still coming down from reaching me. When I had finally reached the truck, I wrapped my hand in a towel, gripping the wet handle and throwing the door open, climbing in, and throwing the tarp quickly to the other side of the cab, wincing as the wet side of it brushed my arm. So much for getting past mostly unscathed, as I could tell already that that was going to burn pretty deeply.

Ignoring it as much as I could manage, I started up the truck, feeling better as the heater came on, starting to warm the inside a bit. The rain outside was nearly freezing, and even the humans had complained of how it numbed their fingers as they were trying to work. It was a very clear sign that we didn't have much time at all left before rain turned to sleet, and sleet to snow.

I turned on the windshield wipers, watching as they passed back and forth along the water, clearing the glass so that I could see without vision impairing, warping rivulets and ripples running down the smooth surface. I watched them dimly, blinking a few times as I let my mind go blank for just the briefest moment. As much as I hated it, water was really beautiful, in a way… I only wished that it didn't almost kill me every time I touched it.

Shaking my head suddenly, very hard, I forced my mind to get back to work, lifting my hand with grit teeth to adjust the rear-view mirror. For just a moment, the reflection landed on me, and I stopped, either my mind too fuzzed by the warmth in the cab or too shocked at what I saw. I'd never really had a chance to see what I looked like, before… I'd never looked in a mirror or any other reflective surface for more than a second to make sure there wasn't anything behind me or whatnot, and I'd never really had them _pointed_ at me. But now I froze, just studying my reflection, my brow furrowing in thought and making me appear older than I really was.

It was strange, really. I'd grown used to seeing the human's eyes… the almond-shaped, white masses with clear irises and pupils. Even with the other slaves… both of them had dull purple eyes, and I'd never really questioned my own eye color, but now I saw it, and I was a little surprised. My eyes were red… a very deep, vibrant red. I really shouldn't have been surprised; it was one of the most common colors that our species carried, after all, but what caught me more was the life in them. The reflection narrowed its eyes back at me, and I searched, caught within them… Maybe that was why the humans always picked me out? My eyes still had… something… something that I hadn't seen in either Jeran's or Gorit's eyes. No matter how worn or thin I noticed I looked, no matter how ragged or untidy my antennae were…. Those eyes… I had no idea I had them…

"Crap!" I squeaked when I realized I had just been sitting staring into the mirror for quite some time now. Quickly, I threw the truck into gear, spinning the wheels in the mud a bit as I punched the gas hard. Again, I moved the mirror, but so it would be facing the back, now, and so that I wouldn't be able to see myself if I looked into it. I didn't need that type of distraction, especially on the last shipment that I needed for the day. I would just be holding everyone up doing that type of shit.

Once I was on the road to the shipping building, I felt a little better. None of the humans had come by to tell me to stop slacking… so I at least hadn't been any more than five or ten minutes zoning out. That was good…. I certainly didn't need to have _that _on my record… it would only give Jeran and Gorit more material to call me a stuck up, vain royal, which I hated to my very core. I don't think any of my family had been stuck up or vain. My grandmother certainly hadn't been, and when she spoke of my parents… that gleam that came into her eyes could inspire me to think anything was possible. Even freedom…

Suddenly, a movement on the road caught my eye, breaking harshly into my thoughts, and I snapped back to reality, my foot pounding down on the brake as the truck screeched to a stop, the heavy wheels having difficulty finding traction on the slick roads and sliding despite all my efforts. I clenched my eyes shut as I braced myself, feeling the entire truck shake hard for a brief moment, having met resistance before it could halt it's forward momentum completely. Immediately afterwards, my eyes flew open, my breath coming fast as I felt cold, icy dread creep slowly up my spine.

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit! Oh, SHIT!" I was babbling to nothing in particular, setting the truck's flashers on as I grabbed the still damp tarp from the seat beside me, wincing a bit as the small drops of water burned my hands, but I ignored it, pushing the gear into park as I threw the cover over me, then opened the door and hopped out onto the wet road. The water was splashing a bit as the drops hit the small puddles, sending brief, sharp points of stinging through the parts of my legs exposed to the elements by my ragged pants. But I was too distracted by my racing mind to even give half a thought to that, shuddering a bit as I cautiously inched my way to the front of the truck.

I gave a small gasp as my eyes were met with diluted, deep red stains across the pavement, leading to a large lump lying some distance from the front of the gigantic grill. A few ragged pieces of gore lay here and there in small clumps along with the blood, showing that whatever it was had been quite badly injured by the accident, despite my efforts to stop in time and the significantly slower speed I had been going at. Stepping across the gap with every movement blaring fear and skittishness, I let out a very small breath as I came close enough to see that it was just a deer. A large deer, but nothing that would get me killed for hitting it.

I choked back a sudden yelp as it abruptly began moving, crying out in a bleating, unnatural call, it's pain obvious, the blood around it darkening and thickening as the wounds caused by the impact were opened further. Now that I was so close, I could very clearly see the sickening details, how several places on it's forelegs were bent at odd angles, the bones ripping horribly through the skin, and how one entire side of the creature was scraped raw, much of the skin and tissue left in gruesome smears on the rough, unforgiving concrete. Despite the fact that it was obviously dying, however, it still struggled, fighting death with every last ounce of strength it had.

Before I had even known that I had moved, I was kneeling beside it, reaching out of the tarp, my teeth clenching as I hissed in a pained breath, but getting past the feeling somehow. Gently, I took it's head in both hands, trying to keep it from hurting itself, feeling my palms sizzling as my skin touched the matted fur.

"Don't…." I whispered quietly, my brow furrowing somewhat as I noticed how choked up my voice had become, "Don't move… you're hurting yourself."

I hadn't really been expecting it to do anything or react to my voice; it was a deer, after all, and dying at that, but I was amazed as just a moment after my words it stopped struggling, giving a small, ragged huff as it turned it's head in my hands, just looking at me with it's deep, liquid brown eyes. I nodded a bit, as if in praise, giving a very forced smile as I spoke again.

"Good… good deer…." I was forced to pause a moment, taking a gulping breath as I tried to keep myself under control, "Don't worry… You're dying… but everything dies eventually. You don't have to be afraid." Carefully, ignoring my own flaring agony, I ran my hand over its fur in repetitive movements, just looking into its eyes, "I'm sorry…."

Still looking at me, it lifted one ear towards me tiredly, as if it were trying to catch my words. I gave another small, sad smile, and it blinked slowly. Its eyes were so expressive… I just sank into them.

Time seemed to stop around us in that moment, the rain suspended in midair as my own eyes slowly widened at another sound gradually growing louder and louder through the pounding of the rain. I turned my gaze, feeling as if every movement I made was slow motion, seeing the car coming from the other direction, not slowing down in the least, even though my truck's flashers were very clear. The tapping from beside me paused; the young fawn freezing as it was blinded by the glare of the headlights.

The slow motion effect of the moment never broke. I saw every muscle in the young body tense, every hair stand on end as the tiny quadruped gathered itself for a leap. It propelled itself into the air, seeming almost to be flying as it was suspended in midair before with a jolt time snapped back to normality. I made a small yelp as the creature staggered past me, it's tiny hooves flying, and the tarp roaring as it was struck with the water spray from the car's passing.

Gathering my breath again, I quickly looked down to the deer that I was somehow still holding and petting, a sadness growing within me as I saw that it had died while I was looking away, it's eyes already blank and clouding over with the film of death. Gently, I placed its head back on the pavement, pulling my scalded hands back to me as I glanced over to the fawn. It was just hopping skittishly, looking like it wanted to come nearer, but was afraid to. I stayed still, just looking back to it, and eventually it moved very cautiously to step closer, lowering it's delicate muzzle to nose the dead deer. Once, twice, it's nostrils flaring wide, before it's ears flicked, small droplets of water flying off of them, and very slowly it's head turned to look at me with eyes just as deep and liquid as it's parent.

"I'm sorry…" I repeated, a heavy feeling of guilt adding itself to my unexplained sadness.

It's tiny ears flicked forwards towards me, huge on its head, and it tensed, before giving a small huff, bounding away into the undergrowth on the other side of the road. I watched where it had gone for a long moment, feeling just a little bewildered, and my head nearly swimming with pain and countless other things. After I was certain that it wasn't coming back, I let myself stand, looking down to the carcass, now, still a little confused, but knowing that I couldn't just leave it there to obstruct traffic. I was already lucky that I'd only met one other car on the road, and I couldn't be any later than I already was. The excuse of hitting an animal wasn't going to lessen my punishment any if I delayed an entire shipment.

With a resigned sigh, I scuttled over to take a hold of the dead deer's hind legs, heaving as hard as I could and gritting my teeth with the effort, especially since I hadn't given my burned hands any time to particularly heal at all and was now basically burning them all over again. With a great effort, I managed to get the body off the road and to the side, and giving not even a moment more to look at the carcass in my determination not to be late again, I ran back to the truck and climbed in as fast as I could, throwing the tarp to the side as soon as I was inside, the door slamming back beside me, and turning the flashers off as I cranked the gear into overdrive, getting out of there as fast as safely possible.

The rain pounding into the windshield was louder now, and the drops were more clumped, little particles of ice clearly visible in them before they were either wiped away or melted by the moving air. I groaned a bit to myself as I saw that; why me? _Sleet_, already, and that meant that by the time I got back it would be snow, and to add onto my misery I doubted I would be able to get into any dry area without getting snow clumping in my ragged shoes and under the tarp I would be using to run to the house. Great. Just _great_.

"I would do anything to get the hell outta here…."  
It took me a full minute to realize I had said that out loud, my eyes widening in surprise at my own audacity. _Me_, get out of this place? What the hell did I mean…..? No, scratch that, what the fuck was I _thinking_?? If I got out of here, I would only have it worse off in some place where they would either sell me as gourmet dog food within a month of working or use me for target practice… maybe hang my head on the wall as a trophy. I heard that was popular with humans, and my Master already had a few. He had shown them to me on my first day working for him when I was younger, telling me exactly how he had killed each one and what was involved in preserving the heads, the skin, making the eyes seem lifelike long after they had dulled and condensed into crystal….

But in a way, I envied them. In death they had escaped this shithole called Earth. They didn't have to worry anymore, all they had to do was sit on a wall and look pretty so all the Irkens my master hired would look at them with blatant fear and be good little buggies for all the big bad humans. Just watch while an empire that was great and powerful was reduced to nothing but dust before their lifeless eyes. God damn fucking _humans_….

"Kiros, get yourself together…." I said to myself, my tone sharp enough that I managed to snap my own mind out of it's vengeful thoughts, "You're a worthless Irken on a planet that hates you, get used to it. You'll never get better than you have now."  
Even though I had said that to myself… I continued to fume silently. I knew my words were empty, without meaning. The Empire _had_ to have been better than this… Humans told each other how horrible it had been, sweeping across the universe to snap up innocent planets and put them through a wringer, debasing the natural population and turning them into slaves or worse…

Were the humans any better? Ye gods, humans were _hypocrites_! Everything in their society was based on the lofty ideal of finding peace with other races, but just _see_ one that they could truly have been equals with… and then it's nothing but revenge. 'Shoot first; ask questions later'… that was the phrase that was most of humanity's motto. Though of course the dead can't answer any questions, so it stands to reason that humans thought they were always right, and anything that could prove them wrong… well, they were destroyed.

But the Empire… there's no _way _it could have been this bad…. Could it? Or…. But if we tried again…? Could the two species ever peacefully coexist? _Hah_… doubtful… but could we agree to leave each other alone? Maybe…. More likely than coexistence, that's for sure.

God, I wanted it. I wanted to live without being a slave, wanted to talk to another person without being looked down upon….  
I wanted to be _Prince_ Kiros again… I wanted to be that child growing up when the Empire was still intact and everyone was happy…. When Irkens were more than just insect slime to be scraped off humanity's proverbial boot….

But that was impossible….

I pushed my thoughts away as I drove on. It wasn't worth thinking about.


	3. Curiosity Killed the Cat

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

"You're _late_, Truck-driver!!" the bellow was powerful, enraged, and I visibly cringed down, my antennae pressing against my head. Oh god, I didn't want this. Not after all the snow, the rain, my shitty day to end all shitty days….. "I told you not another late shipment! Now tell me why the hell I was cursed to deal with such incompetent, _ungratefu_l slugs every damn day!! You worthless bug! Tell me why you're such a goddamn idiot!!!"  
"S-sir… I-I-I d-don't know…. Sir…." I managed to sputter out, keeping my eyes to the floor, cringing like the beaten dog I was. I yelped as my Master grabbed me by the back of the neck, so roughly that I thought the bones might snap at any moment, and he lifted me up from the floor like a tiny rag doll. Panic seized me, even before I realized that his strong fingers were cutting off my air supply, and I struggled desperately, trying to get his fingers off my neck, making strained sounds as I tried so hard and uselessly to take a breath.

He grinned, bringing his weathered and ugly face close to mine. I could barely hide the look if disgust as I smelled the stink of his breath, like rancid meat left out to spoil in the sun after a rain, a rather ironic thing that the only reason I could smell it at all was the fact that I was trying so hard to take in air. It was obvious to me that he found my plight amusing, thought that his power over me was absolute. Which it was.

"I'll tell you why, slime. It's because you're an Irken! A goddamned, fucking alien! You can't help being such a _useless _son of a bitch, it's a trait of you're entire snarking race! But maybe if I beat your ass to a pulp every day you'll get one iota of discipline in you and be able to do your one menial damned job! If you die right here I can get another slave for less than it takes to feed you for one day!" His face was bright red, his eyes burning with a hatred I could only gasp at, mostly because I couldn't very well do anything else. I could see the crazed mind behind it, and it scared me. Scared me so badly… But during all this the room around us was fuzzing in my vision, my gasping becoming more desperate, then finally less so as against my will my body decided that I couldn't live for too long without air.  
Then, agony abruptly flared in my entire body as my shoulder cracked hard against the ground, and I cried out without even thinking of it, my hand immediately rising to cradle the injured limb. Any thought of blacking out that I had had was both repelled and desperately wished for by that pain, but at least I could breathe again. The rest of me was battered, bruised as all hell, and it didn't help it when my Master pulled back his boot and kicked me powerfully just below the ribs, knocking what weak, coughing breath I had managed to take right out of me with painful force.  
"Get to your quarters, Irken! There'll be no food for you here!" he barked, giving me a long, intense glare that dared me to try and stay. Of course, I wasn't the daring type, and I scrambled up as fast as my beaten body would allow, gritting my teeth painfully at my shoulder, still struggling to take in enough air and not black out because of my movement, and climbed the small ladder to my cot that was upstairs. Once there, I set my bag down, somewhat bewildered that somehow through all of that I had managed to keep it slung across my arm, and then carefully sank down. Carefully cradling my aching arm, which was still throbbing unmercifully with each tired beat of my heart, I leaned forward on the one that didn't hurt as much, my antennae finally rising from painfully tight against my head to just a very low set.

It was strange in here for some reason, and I couldn't quite place it. I shivered a bit, noting somewhat bitterly in the back of my mind that it was still as cold as ever. I doubted _that_ would ever change… But even though I was bone tired, my body crying out for rest, I didn't think I could ever sleep without placing that nagging thought in my mind. I sighed heavily, closing my eyes for a moment and moving my head so I could rub my eyes past the lids, the motion only helping very slightly with the heaviness and hurt there. But of course I didn't make any more noise than that. After all, I already heard the heavy, invasive snores from Gorit's cot, and Jeran's…..

Wait…. That was it. My eyes snapped open, and I looked over to Jeran's cot fearfully, my antennae snapping off my head, but immediately falling back down again so fast that it literally jarred my hearing, and I winced from it. But that discomfort was lost on me.

I don't know what it is about fear. That all encompassing, invading thing that makes one's limbs lock up, unable to move or do anything more than stare blankly at the object of their terror until either they're able to snap out of it themselves… or they die. But in that moment, as I literally could count as every individual muscle on my malnourished frame immediately went as rigid as a board, time seemed to slow down as my senses went from dull to hypersensitive in less than a second. In any other situation, I would probably have welcomed the extreme and sudden awareness of everything around me, but not now…

Gorit was snoring… impossibly loud. There's no way that the sound could have been that much. Everything in the room… Once blurred, now crystal clear as if someone had cleaned a dirty window and was looking out of it and marveling at the sharpness of what was on the other side. Even the cold, so numbing, turned from a hard fact of life to something that was only distantly felt, as if it were nothing of consequence.

God… oh, god, no…

Jeran's cot was empty.

And I was the last Irken to have gotten back.

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh goddamn shit!_ My mind screamed at me, my eyes widening slightly as I felt my breath become even more ragged and irregular than before. Hell, I was nearly hyperventilating! No matter what I did, I just couldn't slow my breath down, everything revolving around the shocking, concrete fact that was staring me in the face, basically blaring at me.

Jeran was gone.

The Master never let slaves walk around this late. He never kept us in more than one spot.

Jeran was dead.

That thought echoed with harsh finality into my mind, reverberating around my skull, bouncing off those invisible walls of consciousness and growing both stronger and fainter with each repetition. Jeran was dead. Jeran was dead. Jeran was fucking _dead_! Goddammit, I didn't care how much I hated him! He was a person! They murdered him! Just last night he had been sleeping there, peacefully enough, never content, I guess, but not DEAD!

And god, oh god, I could have stopped him. I could've spoken up when he was about to say it…. I SAW the danger! I could have yelled at him to shut the fuck up, and he would have beaten me when the Master wasn't around to see it. But he would be alive to do it! And all I did was sit like a dumb idiot and run away when the Master told me to! Was this what humans did?? Was this what the Irkens had done?

No! No no no nononononononono! NO!

_Click!_

One of my flattened antennae shot up as high as it would go at the sudden sound of a door opening, and there was a scuff from outside, where the snow was drifting lazily down in clumps, wet, because surprisingly, even though it was both night and below freezing, the air had actually warmed since the snow had started. Warm enough for only a light jacket, as my hypersensitive hearing could actually pick out the sound of the material scraping across itself. My breathing caught, a sound coming through hoarsely as something of a despairing sob, and with a disturbing awareness of myself and what I was doing, I hopped down to the floor, the pain in my aching limbs and body just something to note in my highly aware state, and with a trembling series of scuffling steps I had scrambled over to Jeran's cot, which was right below the window, climbing onto it and looking out with dread.

My breathing came fast and scared as I watched, to the point where it was actually quite surprising that I hadn't passed out already. My Master was below, standing in the doorway to the house, if the silhouette of shadow on the freshly fallen snow was any indication. Another man was talking to him, a voice I didn't particularly recognize… then again all humans sounded the same, anyway. There was a laugh; the atmosphere was relaxed and casual. This other man must be a friend or guest. My Master never treated his workers to such friendly tones.

"Oh no! No, man! You have me there!" My Master's jolly tone was… disturbing. I felt nearly like vomiting my guts out right there…. How could he be so happy… after doing such horrible things, like murder? God…. "My work is my life. But overseeing this craphole is one cushy job compared to pushing pencils, eh?" There was the sound of a clap, and the shadow of my Master moved. Obviously he had just slapped the other man rather heartily on the back. It wasn't an unfamiliar gesture; I had seen other humans do it often.

"It pays good, so I have no complaints on my part!" the other man said, his voice a bit strained from the friendly blow that my Master had put to him. His voice was different, more refined… yet, sneaky, in a way. Like he was used to doing shady deals, but in my Master's presence he didn't dare to try such a thing. But it was also slightly slurred… They must have been drinking. That was never a good thing. "Besides, at least _I _don't have to deal with worthless greenies. Just… Just beautiful… _stupid_ secretaries!" he laughed very hard at that, a laugh that was soon echoed by my Master. Obviously there was a joke there that I didn't get.

"Ah, Doug, you're too much!" my Master said, emitting a very disgusting, tremendous burp at the end of his sentence. He laughed again at it, before walking out into the snow, followed by the other man. I could see them now, and I looked closer, pressing my face close to the cold, cracked glass. My Master looked as he always did, but of course the man following him was a bit different, tall, what I guess to be fairly young, with black hair. I was fascinated by how… casual… they both were. I'd almost never seen a human like that, ever. "But the greenies! They're stupider that secretaries! And ugly little fuckers! But keep them in line…. Keep 'em in line, and you have workers like no others for half the cost of a goddamn _chicken_!"

By this time, the two were partially on their way to the sleek black car that I guessed to be the other man's vehicle. My breath, hot and fast, was steaming the cracked glass before me, and impatiently, with a quick, nearly frantic movement, I lifted my arm and brought my dirty, ragged sleeve to the fore, using the thin cloth to wipe away the moisture as best I could. Just a second later, I cursed myself for my stupidity as my arm flared with burning pain, not half as bad as actual water, but still, how in the _world_ had I forgotten that fog on a window was _water_?? I grimaced, just baring the pain, and raising my antennae to try my hardest to catch the rest of the conversation.

_Why am I doing this?_ My own thought was as a slap to the face, waking me in the briefest, lightest sense from my fear-induced haze of chaos. There was no reason for me to be sitting here, staring out a window as if my life depended on catching the drunken boasts of two human males with decidedly less than favorable temperaments. In fact, all instincts of danger gestured wildly and frantically to me leaving the window, forgetting what had happened here and crawling back to my cot to heal as best I could before the next backbreaking day of labor would begin. That was the smart choice, the choice that would keep me alive for at least another few days.

Despite my thoughts, I just sat there, listening to the conversation as my Master described to the other man his pride in how he beat down 'the greenies'. I shuddered involuntarily, my fear rising and making my gut sink down to the floor. I had never heard of some of the painful, torturous ways that he spoke of, many dealing with water, sometimes even forcing an Irken to drink it, or injecting it in very small amounts into the bloodstream… or far, far worse things than death, that no moral person would ever consider doing to a fellow living being. But if there was one thing I had learned from my imprisonment, it was that my Master was many things, but moral was not one of them.

"Hey… isn't that one o' them right now?" the question was a little reeling, obviously the drinks had had more than enough time to take effect, but it was enough to make an icy hot thrill of fear crawl up my spine like a spider, my antennae both snapping down to my head as I froze, my breath completely halting in my throat. A claxon of alarms blared in my mind, every single one of them telling me to run, to flee, to scramble away before anyone saw me. But try as I might, my treacherous limbs refused to unlock, and I was stuck, my eyes wide, as in a moment of clarity so increased that the world was in slow motion, my Master turned his head, looking up to where the man pointed.

Right at me.


	4. That Slow Motion Feeling

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

Our eyes met for the briefest of seconds. My Master seeming surprised for only an instant, before a powerful rage burned, rising like lava over the lip of a volcano, threatening to burst out into a thunderous inferno of pain and suffering. But he held it in check for just a moment, turning back to the man, and bidding him a farewell, telling him that he needed to go 'teach the little fucker a lesson'. The other man… _laughed_. In my frozen terror, something about that sound, piercing and invasive, echoing in my mind louder than Gorit's sleepy snoring. I felt many things at once, some easily identified, others so ghostly that I wasn't sure they were even there. Anger, that was easy to figure out; fear, also simple; but more surprisingly, determination. I was determined… though to what ends I knew not. It was like some sort of blind thing, with no goal other than to be there, to be recognizable as itself.

I heard the crunch, crunch, crunch of boots in the snow, the heavy, plodding and laborious sound of the steps making me picture my Master's approach as clearly as if I could see him. The fear boiling in me suddenly turned into a different sort of terror, one that made me want to run, blindly, anywhere that might provide some possible shelter from harm. But there was no place in this room, or in this entire house, that I could hide so that he wouldn't find me eventually. I shivered, my muscles all coming loose at once, and I was halfway down the ladder before I realized where my limbs had taken me. I gasped for a second, tensing on the ladder, but that crunch, crunch, crunch forced me again to move, to lean down as far as I could and, in desperation, scoop up the one thing that could possibly save me from punishment.

I took the baseball bat that my Master used for punishing us.

The metal object was nearly unbearable heavy in my shaking, twitching hands, the smooth metal cold and biting. I shivered as I scrambled back up to my cot, curling up and watching the hole down into the room below with the blind, accepting terror of a mouse that had been cornered in the last tunnel of it's burrow, awaiting the snake that had crawled down. It was possibly the longest moment in my life thus far, the single, brilliant point of waiting, hearing the roar of my own blood pounding in my antennae, the steady, innocent snores of Gorit, the rasping irregularities of my breathing.

"Heh, I've got you now, _Truck-Driver_!" my Master's voice, as he came into the house, was heavy, harsh and grating, and just… evil. My limbs seized up again, and my eyes went wide as my breathing stopped for a long moment, before I forced myself from lack of air to regain it, "You think you could get away with _spying _on your master, you little prick?? No, _Truck-Driver_, no, no, no, your little scheme is nothing but a goddamn _failure_, as useful as an ass-scratch! Irken, I'm coming for you! I'm _coming_!!"

_Truck-Driver_. Truck-Driver, Truck-Driver. Was that all I was… half the humans didn't even know my name. _Kiros, I'm Kiros!_ I cried silently in my mind, trying to stem my fear, trying so hard. _Kiros!_ The humans didn't care; I was going to die tonight. Oh, god, I was going to be like Jeran, poor, stupid Jeran. Loudmouthed, never thought of what he was going to say before he said it. And I was next. My cot would be empty tomorrow.

"I can smell your fear from down here, _Truck-Driver_!" the voice was loud, cruelly taunting, mocking me. Making fun of me, lording all the power that my Master had over me and increasing it tenfold. _Truck-Driver_. It was derisive now. Not just a title, a declaration of the human's superiority. Truck-Driver, a nothing. Not even deserving of a name. He'll come when you call, even if you call him Ass-Maggot, he'll come and serve you. Because that's all an Irken is good for. Truck-Driver. _Truck-Driver_!

_My name isn't Truck-Driver!_

My anger flared, the determination I had held within me finally bringing itself to the fore, becoming a driving force for all the feeling, all the indignation, hurt, shame, and guilt that wanted to come out. I stood, shakily, but I stood, both hands gripping the handle of the bat so tightly that my fingers ached and my knuckles were threatening to split from the tension. Anger, so much anger. Was my vision as red as my eyes? Why was I seeing everything so clearly?

Why was I so calm?

Suddenly, my Master's red, mocking face rose from the floor, a specter of all the things inside me that I hated, and my eyes widened, time slowing down to nothing more than the barest crawl for a single, everlasting moment. I saw him look at me, his anger-filled eyes reaching mine, saw the instant that he took note of my stance, the bat I had in my hand. Maybe even he saw the anger in my eyes, because in that moment, as I was looking at him, and he was looking at me, the bat slowly, ever so slowly, rising and lowering, I think I saw fear in his eyes. Realization, and fear.

Then, time sped up.

"MY NAME IS NOT TRUCK-DRIVER!!!!" I screeched, for no real reason other than to voice it, the bat in my hands flying down at speeds that made a whistling noise, "MY NAME IS PRINCE KIROS!!!"

Then, my arms jolted, and there was a sickening, loud and all-pervasive crack. I winced as both my arms sent shooting pain through me, telling me that I should stop right now, but even as I felt the bone beneath my Master's balding scalp give way, making a very nauseating, squelching crackle, I didn't stop, lifting the bat above me and slamming down again, and again, and again and again until the blood was spurting in all directions out of the ruined thing before me, along with small chunks of shattered bone and pulped tissue and brain matter. It was all over me, over my clothing, but I didn't stop, didn't want to stop, and only when the body had fallen back, out of sight as it landed with a tremendous, disgustingly limp and heavy thump on the floor far below, did I pause, my arms risen in mid-swing, just completely and utterly frozen.

I stared incomprehensively at the small hole in the floor, dripping with thick, already congealing clots of red, sticky blood, unable to fathom much of anything for a moment. My eyes trailed upward, catching sight of the bat, once gleaming silver, now covered in lines of crimson and dented, gore dribbling down to trail in a slowly tickling sensation over my hands. I gasped, releasing the thing so fast that it clattered to the floor in a great clamor of noise, and looked around frantically, stepping back. Only now did I realize what I had done, what I had managed to accomplish, and what would be my downfall.

"Ki-ros… oh my god…." I, amazingly, had been repeating my name, over and over and over again, during the entire messy ordeal. But now I stopped, bringing my trembling hands up to my face, looking at the matted, disgustingly thick lumps and liquidly lines as they trailed down my arms and dripped off my elbows to create small but growing puddles on the floor. There was a moment's pause as this information sunk it's way slowly into my brain, before with frantic desperation, I shook my hands away from myself, trying hysterically to get the blood off me, to erase the evidence of what I had done. I made short, pitiful squeaks and tiny cries the entire time, sloughing the thick life-liquid as best I could, and scrambling back until my back slammed painfully into the wall, at which I sank down to the cold floor, just staring at my hands. It seemed I would never get the blood off. Never.

Suddenly, my antennae both twitched, and I looked up quickly, fearfully. There was something missing here. Something…. There! I placed it just an instant later, as I saw the hunched figure clutching a blanket to itself, sitting on Gorit's cot. The other Irken was as wide-eyed as a spooked fawn, the blanket shuddering with the force of his violent shaking, and his dull purple eyes were locked on me, as if I were about to spring up to rip him to shreds. I stared right back at him with the same amount of fear for a moment, before I shuddered and looked away. I had forgotten he was even there. Gorit, another Irken, like me. He was trapped here, too.

I knew what I had to do now. If I stayed here they would find me, kill me. I could never wash off the blood enough to keep my hands from being stained, whether just to me or in reality. With a shivering, lost look I stood, my mind oddly detached, like I was watching my actions from a third person point of view. It wasn't me standing, wasn't me walking over to a frightened Gorit. It wasn't me talking….

But it _was _me…

"Gorit. Gorit, come on, it's me." I rasped, in as gentle a way I could manage right now. I didn't need him having a heart attack just because I spoke to him, after all. He may have been one of the bullies, but he was a follower, and never was very strong. They had made him a truck-loader because they liked to see him struggle, and no other reason. "Gorit, I'm sorry, but… but we can't stay here. If they find us…"

"_Us_??" he hissed back, his eyes growing enraged, "_Us_?? _I_ didn't _do _anything, royal! _You _killed the Master! _You_ killed a _human_!!! You _deserve_ to die!"

I winced back; that stung a bit, but I couldn't just leave him here. I needed to get away, and I wasn't going to leave another Irken to die like Jeran if I could help it, "Gorit! You're talking like an idiot!" in my anger, my voice was harsher than I had intended, and he cringed, hunkering down with eyes closed, as if he expected me to hit him. I growled at myself, curing my impatience to be running and my morals that told me I couldn't leave, and tried again, "Gorit, it doesn't matter that I'm the one that killed him. If they find you here they'll kill you! They don't care if you didn't have a thing to do with it, you were there, and you didn't do anything to stop it. That makes you a walking target to the damn _humans_!" I was surprised by my own vehemence at that word, the hatred at which I spit it out, "You might die if you come with me, but you'll die for _certain_ if you don't. C'mon, Gorit, I don't want to leave you here."

He finally looked up, glaring at me with hatred I found unsettling, "It's your fault! Jeran's dead because of _you_, and now we don't have a home! Because of YOU!" his words were sharply accusing, but desperate, like he needed something or someone to blame, and I was it. Despite how his words burned a shame that carried to the deepest parts of my ragged soul, I bristled right back, glaring at him, and as I had guessed he might, he shrunk back, looking defiant, but too cowardly to do anything about it.

"Now, goddammit, you listen to _me_!" my voice tried to be a snarl, but I couldn't manage it, sounding more like a waterlogged cat than anything, and I doubted I was all that intimidating other than my fearful determination and obvious will to do almost anything to get on my way, "It's _not _because of me! Was _I_ the one that conquered Irk? Was _I _the one that made us all into _slaves_?? Was _I_ the one that killed Jeran?? NO! I'm just as lost as you are, but if there's one thing I know, is that this _isn't_ our home! The humans _aren't _our masters, and we _need to get out_! I don't want you to die, Gorit! Not because of something I did! So please, come with me and escape! If we get going now the snow'll cover our tracks by the time anyone comes to look for us. I know it'll hurt, and be cold, but neither of us have a choice. I'm sorry."

He still looked defiant, his eyes narrowing at me, that inner hatred burning like fire, but at last he made a reaction. Though not the one I was looking for. Gorit, the most cowardly, unlikely to actually do anything without a direct order to do it Irken I had ever seen, growled darkly, and pulled back a hand, slapping me powerfully across the side of my face. My head snapped to the side, burning where flesh had met flesh, and I gasped in surprise, scrambling back, and looking at him with a renewed measure of fear and slight respect. If there was one thing I wasn't expecting, it was for him to lash out.

"NO!! No, I'm going to stay _here_! And when the humans come I'll tell them everything and they'll let me go to a new master, and maybe I can scrape out even half of how good I had it here! You're an _idiot_, Kiros! You gave up all you had here! You've never been to the other places like I have! And I won't tell you about them because I hope you end up there! Now get the hell away from me! I'm going to call them here as soon as you get out, and when they find you I'll go 'see?? See?? That's him!' and they'll reward me by _not killing_ me! Get out! GET OUT!!! GETOUTGETOUT_GETOUT_!!!!"

I just stared, wide-eyed, as Gorit rose from the bed, holding himself rigidly and looking about ready to leap on me and tear me apart. Something in my mind clicked, and I recognized with final, deadening certainty that Gorit, no matter how much sense I made, had been far too beaten, far too cowed by the humans to ever, ever have a chance of surviving without them. He knew he was on his last leg of life, no matter that he wasn't too much older than I, and he both wanted them to kill him or, barring that, wanted to find a new master to perish under. For a moment, I was disgusted, my expression reflecting that fully as I stared into his sparkless purple eyes, and without giving him another moment to push his weak threat, I was up and scrambling through the slick blood down into the house.

My eyes caught the broken body of my master at the bottom of the impossibly long climb, and I quickly averted my gaze, bile rising in my throat, but I forced myself to swallow it back down, as unappetizing as that was. If I was going to escape, I needed all the nourishment I could get, even if it was just the last dregs in an almost empty stomach... But on that thought, I leapt off the ladder to the side, almost falling on the carcass of my dead master as my fingers slipped off the rungs, and making a yelping curse at the same moment. But luckily, I was spared such a disgusting occurrence, and I scrambled into the house.

I found myself unendingly grateful that my master had been such a disgusting pig for his kind that he had never had a wife or child, leaving the small, double floored home absent of any life but him and his slaves. It seemed that a small portion of luck, at least, was with me on that, and I managed a dry, unamused laugh that took place only in my already rather full and pounding head. Taking almost no notice of the surroundings, which were as unattractive as my master's personality, I quickly searched the house, hoping to find something to take with me that might help on my escape. From room to room I searched, before finally stumbling into the kitchen, going immediately to the pantry there that held the Irken food and ruffling through it, before I pulled out several packets of dried meat and a container of liquid that wouldn't burn me to a crisp from the inside out. This was what I needed…. But… what about something to put it in?

"Fucking hell!" I cursed aloud, shaking my head in anger at myself as I shot back to where my cot… no longer mine, but as empty as Jeran's, was. Scrambling up the ladder, I pushed into the room, startling Gorit, who had been just sitting on the bed, staring out into nothing, and causing him to hiss like some sort of mindless animal. I didn't even spare much more than a glance at him, scrabbling through the muck to my cot, and grabbing up my bag, before with a flash I had shot back down the hole.

That was the last time I ever saw Gorit.


	5. Snowfall

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

Making my way to entrance to the house and stuffing my bag with my find, I paused a moment as I passed the single window looking outside from the bottom of the house. The snowfall had increased, to the point where I could barely see anything but a dull, reddish white as I looked out, flinching as the wind changed and made the heavy, wet flakes that prescribed a most horrible and ignoramus death beat against the glass in almost feather-like displays of violence. The irony was not lost upon me, and I grimaced, casting my eyes around for anything, _anything_ I could find useful. My gaze was caught by a thick, heavy pair of boots, and, looking down to my own worn out shoes, I could see instantly how good an idea it would be to take them. I grabbed them, not bothering to take my own shoes off, for they were thin, but my master's boots were that much larger than my own feet, and as well as adding mass and grip to my feet, my old shoes could give some extra warmth, little through that may be. Finally getting the thick boots as comfortable as I thought I was going to, I stood again, looking to the area where the tarps to cover Irkens that went out into the rain were, sighing in relief as I saw one was on the rack, dry. It was likely the one I had brought not too long earlier, but I didn't care, unhooking it and throwing it over me.

I had a brief thought of taking one of my master's coats, but within an instant I had abandoned the idea. Taking his boots was bad enough. I didn't want to be able to be tracked in any way, and the coat, especially worn on an Irken, would be suspicious enough to warrant shooting on the spot. All things considered, I would rather not die the next town over because of a stupid, selfish mistake on my part. Cold was nothing new to me, and though the wind would be something to watch and hide from, I could live through temperatures much lower than a human could.

With one last, fearful glance to the rest of the house, mentally checking and rechecking all that I had, -finally after the recheck going to steal a fair amount of money and stuffing that into my bag as well- I wrapped the tarp protectively around me, down to my very boots, holding it closed in front of me and looking like a nun. Sparing one arm to quickly throw open the door, I stumbled out into the fierce chill, immediately shivering hard, and pushing the door closed again behind me, before I broke into a brisk, purposeful walk. The snow whirled around me, white death, and I could feel it crunch under my boots, deep enough already that I fervently hoped that it wouldn't get too much deeper, for fear that it would rise over the top of them and sear against my exposed flesh.

I could see the warehouses in the distance, large, looming shadows in the red-tinged whiteness. My mind, previously focused on the cold, turned to the trucks there, and I seriously considered stealing one. I could escape in relative comfort that way, get out of the place and ride down the road until the gas ran out, and then continue on foot, giving as little trace to where I was as I could… But _damn_! No, Gorit had said he was going to call the humans, and the humans always traveled by the roads. If I took a truck, they would cross my path, and know where I was and follow. If there was one thing I knew, it was that those trucks of my master's were no match for the speed of the human's smaller police cars. I would die for certain that way…

_Gorit said he would call the humans!_

Oh, _crap_! My pace redoubled, and I stumbled a bit, but kept my balance in the blinding white flurries. Gorit was calling them; that would mean they would be here before morning, possibly in less time than it would take for me to get even more than a mile away. I inwardly cursed Gorit in every way I knew how, shuffling across the snow to the gates, scalding my fingers on the cold, wet metal as I opened it, slipping through, and then subjecting myself to searing pain again to close it once more. I couldn't leave any clues… I already was, far against my nature, wishing desperately that the snow would fall even heavier to cover my tracks. Wishing for the wind to blow away my footprints.

_Away from the road_. I told myself. _Away from the road is where you need to go. In the forest. They can't find you there. At least, not as easily. The forest is dangerous for them. Me too, but less for me_. My feet shuffled in a steady rhythm, step, step, step, look around, step, step, step. I was getting far away from the road now. My antennae, pricked high under the protection of the heavy tarp, hadn't yet picked up any sounds of sirens or such, but I could never be sure that they weren't after me. They could have not turned their sirens on; it had happened before when they came for things, I had heard. To lull nearby criminals into a false sense of security. I just focused all my effort on getting into the cover of the trees.

A subtle weight lifted off me as I felt the forest giants around me, their massive trunks some shelter to the whistling wind, their strong branches intertwining above me, hiding me from the sight of an airborne enemy. My step never slowed, nor did my urgency vanish, but it felt more possible, more impossibly possible, that I just might get through the night alive.

I shivered as a gust of wind brought cold air into the tarp, and continued on. I needed to walk as far as I could, then find shelter. Good shelter, and not just two trees that happened to be somewhat close together. A cave, a recess under a large boulder, the hollow of a tree. It didn't matter, as long as it was adequate. Survival was important now. Nothing else mattered...

My legs began to tire several hours of urgent wandering later, protesting any more movement, and it was clear that the adrenaline that had been sustaining me for the most part since I had killed my master was now fading, and would be gone within moments. I staggered, having to stop frequently to lean against the comforting, solid bulk of a tree before I could continue on, my step faltering. I hadn't slept or even really rested since I had gotten up this morning, so rudely and violently awakened by my former master, and as I thought of that, taking stock of any injuries I might have, I realized with a tingle of stone cold dread that my shoulder wasn't hurting anymore. In fact, not only was it not hurting, it was completely and utterly numb, to the point where I didn't even realize the pressure when I leaned it against another tree to take stock of my surroundings.

I had never really been one to think too much about death, but in this place, colder than I had ever truly been, lost, alone, without any real hope, I began to slowly and inexorably come to terms with my own mortality. My body was made of flesh, my bones breakable and weary. My eyes were not things that could turn the elephant from its rampage, nor was my mind a thing that could take on the best and outsmart. My will, unfortunately, could not move mountains. I was just an Irken. A nameless, helpless, runaway Irken wandering the cold and foreboding lands of a place far, far from home.

_How insignificant would my death be?_ I wondered; _What would change? Would the resistance of one scared little creature that hadn't even had any idea of what it was doing ever change the world?_

Oh… I was referring to myself as 'it' now. Somehow I knew that wasn't a good thing. With a weary, soul-heavy blink, I looked around one last time, about ready to just collapse where I stood and fuck the whole idea of shelter, when I sagged against the tree with relief. Right in front of me, as if sent down by gods, goddesses, or whatever there were above the heavens, was a slab of rock, jutting out at an angle from the earth. On top of it's magnificent point, a tree, large, strong, towering hundreds of feet above me, rested serenely, it's thick latticework of roots shooting down and creating walls around each side of the stone. This was shelter, hidden from above by the tree, hard to see, only about three feet of space under the rock in any manner. I could hide here.

Thankfully, I threw myself down, crawling as best I could through the deep snow to bring myself, weary, in need of rest, into the small space. My eyes, adjusting to the darkness quicker and more completely than any human would have been able to, found nothing much worth noting, a surprising thing that I again thanked the higher powers for as I tiredly shook off the snow around me. This place was, for lack of a better word, safe, and I would be able to rest here as the snow created walls that searching humans would never think to look under.

Bundling the tarp about me, already feeling the small, enclosed space beginning to warm slightly from the heat of my body, I set my back against the tree roots that formed into a solid mass on the other end of the shelter. Hunger gnawed at my gut, and I heard the rumble as my stomach demanded food. Wearily, slowly, I pulled my bag to my lap, rummaging through the items I had put there, and finally reaching the packet of dried meat. Opening it, I pulled out the smallest strip, bringing it up and ripping into it with drained hunger. It filled me quickly, so little was I used to food, and I was forced to put the last third back into the bag, before I blinked very slowly, my eyelids heavy. I yawned, taking in a deep breath, noting the comfortable warmth I was surrounded in, and carefully checking the entrance once again, I finally, finally allowed my eyes to close, giving my tired, racing mind a rest.

The last image I saw before a comfortable blackness engulfed me was a faint, unremembered but tauntingly familiar pair of proud red eyes, laughing and telling me stories as I toddled around in a place so perfect that it could only be a dream.

_Ugh… did I oversleep again..?_ I thought, just moving my head with a faint groan. Master would be upset with me if I didn't get up, but god, I wanted to stay in my cot. It was so much more comfortable here, so warm….

Wait, _warm_?? I snapped into wakefulness, my entire body tensing, and with wide eyes I realized that… there was something warm huddled against me. I mentally checked my legs, my arms, knowing by their positions that no, I didn't have one up to my chest. So that could only mean…

_What. The. _Hell_. Is. Against. Me?_ My question in my mind was slow, afraid, my breathing quickening as I, terrified, slowly, ever so slowly, looked down, down, down, down, my bleary gaze not even registering the surroundings, and finally rested on the furry bulk of….

A deer?

No, no it was a fawn. A little, spotted fawn, huddled against my chest and sleeping peacefully, it's tiny, fuzzy ear flicking in dreams as it slept. My eyes narrowed somewhat… What the hell was it doing-…?

Suddenly, my awareness and my memories caught up with me, and my limbs all locked in the same moment, which was just as well, as I would have likely erupted out into the snow and caused myself a lot more harm that was healthy if I had been able to move. Shattering my nearly blissful ignorance, the gruesome images of the murder presented themselves to me, as well as the memory of my desperate flight and where I was now. As I remembered, I couldn't help but despair at my situation, so unexpected, and I carefully, quietly rose a hand to wipe away the tears from my cheeks, railing at myself for even thinking of crying like this.

_You're _Prince_ Kiros, man… Princes don't cry. Not like this. Not like _this

My mental admonishment ended, having had the desired effect for the most part, and I again wiped away any lingering liquid from my face, sighing deeply and turning my deceptively calm thoughts to more pressing matters, like where I would go from here, or even more pressing…. Why there was a deer pressing into my chest.

Well… better to take the logical way on finding out that one, since the fawn damn well wasn't going to up and tell me… I found this shelter last night… it had nothing in it then, which was good. The floor was flat… which was odd. Usually something that had been left unoccupied for a long amount of time didn't have a flat, packed floor. Clue number one was revealed. This was not an unoccupied space. Clue number two… there was a deer on my chest. The fawn was way too comfortable to have just come here. This was the fawn's shelter. Odd thing number two, this was a young fawn. Too young to be without a mother…

Realization number one; this was a very _familiar_ fawn. In fact, I'd remember those flicking ears anywhere as clearly as I remembered kneeling in the rain, holding a dying doe's head up to try and comfort her near her death…

Wow… of all the coincidences. The little thing was _alive_….

I grunted suddenly as a small, sharp pain shot through me, realizing that my body was protesting staying in one position for too long. How long had I been lying like this? Well, there was no way to know, but I painfully levered myself up, carefully trying not to disturb the fawn, which proved useless, as in the moment that I moved more than lightly, it had lifted it's head, staring at me with those deep, all-seeing eyes, it's ears pricked forward and body stiff with fear and the tenseness of decision as it looked about to flee. I stopped, unmoving, just staring back at it for a moment, before, feeling awkward for no real explainable reason, I spoke quietly.

"Um… hi. I'm Kiros… I'm sorry for everything… Thanks for letting me use your shelter…"

As I expected, the fawn didn't answer any more that to quiver its ears, watching me some more, before it stood with a jerky movement. It watched me for a moment more, before with a bound it had escaped the shelter, streaking away through the freshly fallen, pristine show. I sighed heavily, and looked around the little shelter… at least I would have some solitude for thought. Like on where I would travel from here. If only I had had the mind to steal a map…

Guess it was just touch and go for now…

But… thinking on the little fawn that I had shared shelter with, I was given some small ounce of hope. If a small, frail creature like that could survive, beyond all odds of the wild and against a much harsher reality than the one I had… Well, maybe, just _maybe_, there was a chance that I could, too.


	6. New Player

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

My life turned into nothing but an endless, wandering circle. Day in and day out, I walked. Walked until I couldn't walk anymore, and only then would I cast about for shelter. Oftentimes I couldn't find very good refuge, and never did I find the same quality as that of my first night of freedom… but I managed as well as I could. And when I couldn't find any clear ground, not even under the interfering branches of low trees, I wrapped myself up in the tarp… that blessed, blessed tarp, and hunkered in a depression, below a bush, or on the more sheltered side of a large tree. It snowed almost every day, the white on the ground getting deeper and deeper, drifting, burning against my exposed flesh at every slip up, nearly impassible in many places. I learned many fine points of how to utilize the tarp and boots in a manner that let the least amount of water in.

At least it was somewhat better than rain. Snow could hide me, while rain would only make it impossible for me to survive. Despite that, I learned a whole new definition of cold, found myself wishing desperately for my cot in my former master's house, anyplace dry and out of cold air. I wondered and thought to myself often when I was hunkered down at night, before I was able to force my tired body into sleep. My dreams were addled and confusing, holding places I was sure I had never been and faces that I didn't remember ever seeing. But during the day, when I walked, I was sure to keep such daydreams out of my head, focusing only on where I was going and what seemed the best route to get there from where I was. It kept me occupied enough to throw out any thought whatsoever on dreams with a surprising ease.

So absorbed was I in figuring out tactics to get past a certain area with the least amount of risk to myself, that I nearly missed the town completely.

It was only a chance look that really saved me, and my eyes widened as I saw, rising up not more than a few hundred yards in the distance, a large wooden fence, the type used in the suburbs to keep wild animals from sneaking onto properties, all the good it did. I was speechless for a moment, my eyes blank, as my few days in the wild had somewhat brainwashed me into thinking that there _was_ nothing but wandering, and towns a distant thing of the past. But no, no, here it was. A human dwelling, and a human road; it was the beginnings of a town on the edge of the forest.

I was considerably afraid.

My food had begun to run out. Each day I ate but a small amount of one strip of meat, but it certainly wasn't enough to satisfy my hunger, and it wasn't lasting very well. My 'water', not really water at all but a type of liquid that was said to spring from my home planet that, though it looked like the human version of water, was much different in structure, was already on the very last dregs. The cold kept me less thirsty, but the truth was I couldn't hope to survive on this harsh planet without the proper nourishment. The town… any town, I knew, held a store with supplies imported directly from the conquered Irk, specifically to cater to slave drivers or individual owners. If I could go there… pretending to be on a trip for my master, who was too busy to come… maybe I could manage to buy what I needed with the stolen money and be on my way, until I could get to a place far enough… remote enough to live….

_And what then, cavort around in the wild like a happy little frog_?? My own inner voice, so harsh but truthful, made itself known yet again, _you can't live on this planet! Not without the humans! That's why they aren't afraid of you, here! There's no way you could last more than a week without going to a town! They've probably set up sentries and god knows what lying in wait for you!_

I was right, of course. The likelihood that I was going to go in and to my doom was more than apparent, but I needed food. I needed safe liquid. I needed those things like I had never needed anything before, and the thought of not having any, of not being able to get any… well, it just wasn't pleasant. I shivered, my antennae laying back under the tarp, just gazing balefully out at the wooden wall that spelled disaster for me in every straight, towering plank, and after a long moment of feeling an inevitable tingle of an undesirable fate, I walked on. Walked towards the town… but kept hidden until I came to the more main parts of it.

It was as I expected, a small town in the middle of nowhere. It was large enough to warrant several department stores and even more restaurants, but too small for a mall or any of those larger places of entertainment. In a way I was glad… there had been several reports of Irken slaves being stolen from the streets, even on errands for their master, and forced to work in brothels or mining pits. The humans never usually cared other than the cost of getting another slave, and the perpetrators usually got off with only a small slap on the wrist. Oftentimes the Irkens stolen were never returned, but that only ever happened in large cities, from the reports, where slaves weren't easy to come by and businesses were always on the lookout for more.

As I expected, walking with a type of submissive, shuffling purpose, holding the tarp over me tightly in the snow that was lightly falling, no one passing by on the streets took much notice of me. Maybe it was because they couldn't see me too well, as humans never particularly looked at anything, and with the tarp over me I could easily be mistaken for another human. Though for that same reason it was likely that I would also be identified as a slave.

The hard pavement was a lot different from the drifts and uneven, treacherous ground of the forest. I welcomed it as a respite from having to watch my step at every other stride. The boots I had been wearing, my former master's boots, were more comfortable and worth stealing than I could have guessed at first, being both warm and thickly soled. They clumped heavily on the wet stone below, hidden beneath the long, dragging ends of the tarp, taking me where I needed to go.

The moment I walked into the store, I raised my antennae high, listening hard, and furtively looking out from the small hole in the front of my cover to determine who was there besides me. As I had guessed earlier, there were several rather bored looking men in police uniforms milling about the store, sometimes gesturing to certain items and making obscene jokes that their comrades found rather amusing, by the hearty laughter. I didn't understand a word they were saying… and for some reason guessed that I didn't really want to. Other than them, there was one other person, a younger human girl in an old gray coat who came in behind me and immediately moved over to some racks on the wall, apparently to look over some books there. Glancing to her, I saw her pick up a book entitled 'Irken Care and Feeding'. I narrowed my eyes a bit in offense… it made it seem like we were _pets_ to these humans.

Shaking off my anger quickly, the feeling being replaced by fear and meek, shuddering steps as my antennae were again assaulted by the laughter of the policemen, I carefully walked around the place, picking up what I would need, being careful to get only the cheapest food and 'water' to both conserve my money and make it seem more like my fictional master was not the lenient, extravagant sort, and began making my way to the counter, setting my purchases there. The cashier, a young teenage male, looked up from the magazine he was reading, squinting his eyes at me, before looking harsh. Obviously not appreciating having to deal with an Irken.

"Where the _hell _is your master, slave??" he demanded, his voice intentionally loud. I winced; my antennae flattening back down as I heard the policemen abruptly stop laughing. My skin tingled as I could literally _feel_ the pressure around me increase, the humans making a loose circle around me, closing in slowly like the clamps of a vise.

"I…I-I was told to come here and f-fetch this f-for him…." I stammered, trying my best to sound innocent and cowed, "H-he was b-busy today… said he couldn't b-be bothered to go out and f-feed my worthless hide…."

"Oh, did he now?" the first policemen, standing quite close to me, dug his fingers into the tarp, pulling back and ripping it off me, making me visibly shiver and cringe down. All the others were looking at me, smirking in triumph, looking smug as they pulled out various weapons, most noticeably nightsticks. My eyes widened, and I looked around with a bit of desperation. There was no one here to save me. No one was paying attention to my plight… I would be caught, or die right here, "Y'know… we ain't seen any red-eyed greenies like you 'round these parts. Boss said ta look out fer any strange red-eyed ones tha'come past. Said there been an escape…." He turned to the policemen next to him, drawling in a self-satisfied way. I, for just a moment, glared at him, a spark of indignation in my eyes, before I quickly erased it, returning to my cowering, "What you think?"

"I think we have an escapee on our hands, Chief." The other drawled back, lifting his nightstick and thumping it into his hands with abysmally obvious glee. I felt like I was going to be sick. They were _enjoying_ this! How many Irkens had they already beaten down, maybe killed, just because they had been sent somewhere alone?

_At least one_. My mind whispered, low and soft and certain, almost taking as much glee in proving that it was right, that _I_ had been right, as the police were taking in tormenting me.

"Alrigh' then! Well, we all know how we deal with escapees!" the Chief declared, raising his nightstick for the first blow. With cruel certainty, I lowered my head, bracing myself for what would surely be my last moments of life, closing my ruby eyes tightly.

"And _what_ do you think you're doing to _my_ Irken??" the voice was sudden, so sharp that I flinched back in unconscious reaction, almost tripping over my own feet on the floor. The police Chief, startled out of his glee, stopped the blow a bare foot from what would have been my skull, and looked up in surprise to the speaker.

I looked as well, my antennae rising against my will as I noticed the enraged expression on the girl's face, the way she stood as if she would attack at any moment. Her carefully straight, mouse brown hair framed her face, falling down to just below her shoulders, waving slightly from the slow drift of heated air in the store. What I noticed most, though, were her eyes, which were locked in a smoldering death glare upon the police Chief, their emerald depths conveying enough fury to rival that of my Master. I set my back against the counter, trembling and confused, wondering what the hell she was playing at.

Catching my eyes for a moment, the girl narrowed her gaze, but her eyes turned much less intense, almost laughing, and quickly, so quickly that I almost didn't catch it, she _winked_ as she turned her gaze up to the police Chief again. None of the other officers noticed, too shocked at how she had called out in such rage.

"What seems to be the problem, miss?" the Chief had finally seemed to regain enough composure to speak again, looking confused, and a bit disappointed.

"_Problem_??!" the girl all but screeched, "Problem?? I just _bought_ that damned slave!!! I send him on one fucking errand and _look_ how he's treated!! I expect my slaves to have fast, _reliable_ service when they're going to get things for me, not be assaulted in the streets! Do you have ANY idea how much I paid for him!??"

I had to hand it to her… for a bald-faced liar, she was looking _really_ convincing.

"Hey, this Irken just said his Master was a guy! What are you, an Irken-lover??" the guy behind the counter stood up, joining the discussion. In an instant he had realized his mistake, an instant too late, as the girl turned her glare on him and clenched her fist. I half expected him to burst into flames at any moment from the intense glare.

"_Excuse _me?" her tone was quiet, so quiet that it was lethal. The cashier guy took a step back, and, like an act of mercy, the girl turned her attention to the other police officers, giving each one a good, long dose of her eyes, before finally settling back on the Chief. "As my slave could easily have told you had you given him a chance, I _told_ him to say that. I've lost more than a few good slaves to errands, and I've been trying to find the source. So I follow him around as he makes purchases for me, to see if I can find where I've been losing so much of my investments, and when someone asks him, he tells them that story, which I fabricated myself." She had her eyes fixed on the Chief, holding him in place, "Any insult or hindrance to my slave is an insult and hindrance to _me_. You were about ready to destroy my property. Legally, I should be able to take you in for a demotion, _Chief_."

Cowed, the police Chief stepped back, waving his hand to tell his officers to do the same, and muttering a quick apology, a little too quick. Inwardly, I smirked, though still I was as troubled as ever. Why the hell had that girl done this… what did she have to gain? Was she going to try and make me into a slave to her? I shuddered at the thought. I didn't want to be the slave to any _human_! I was _free_! _Free_, dammit! "Sorry, miss. We'll just let you and you're property go now. Didn't mean any inconvenience, jus' doin' our jobs an' all…"

"Well, I prefer you 'do your jobs' far away from _me_." She strode up to the cashier, slamming a ten onto the counter and scooping up what I had put up there, still glaring down the teenage male, "Keep the change. C'mon, slave; get that tarp over you. We're going home." With that, not sparing a glance towards the police officers, or me, she strode towards the door.

I stood stock still for a moment, still undecided, my eyes wide as I slowly absorbed all that had just happened. This _human_… was telling me to come with her. I _could _stay here, but that would be a stupid decision. The police were already looking at me, expecting me to go. If I didn't… well, I didn't want to think about the consequences, as I knew very well that they involved lots of blood and pain. And in any case, this human had just bought all the supplies I had gathered and needed to survive past the next week.

She'd expertly left me with no choice.

With a quick shake of my head, I turned and took the tarp from where the Chief had dropped it, throwing it over myself in the usual manner and following, my step quick and a bit skittish, my eyes and mind searching the girl that slowed a bit to allow me to catch up, then resumed walking. This was the oddest thing I had ever before encountered. She had lied to another human to save me. Not only _lied_, but cowed a full grown male of her species into submission, paid for food that she could never eat herself, and allowed me a way out of more than a few rather adverse situations. As my experiences with humans were, this was not typical. _No one_ cared about Irkens… that stood to reason that she had some ulterior motive that I didn't know about. Maybe she was going to make me into a slave, 'capture' me for free.

Well, if she was expecting gratitude, I certainly wasn't going to give it to a _human_.


	7. The Car Ride

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

The cold air of outside sliced into the tarp as I stepped out the door, and I pulled it closer to me, shivering hard. I had actually managed to warm up a bit since I'd been in the store, and now, now the chill came back to me like a cruel mistress, always nagging, always trying to tear my senses from me. So absorbed by trying to keep the warm air from the store inside my tarp was I, I almost ran into the girl as she stopped, turning to me and gesturing to a red car that she had opened the door to.

"Get in," she was being firm, but her voice had lost all of that harshness it had had when she was railing at the police, "It's warmer in there, and the snow won't hit you."

I just lifted my head, staring skeptically right into her green eyes, my own expression defiant and a little demanding. My feet set into the cement, gaining a solid and unmovable grip, making it clear by my stance that I wasn't moving without a damn good reason. In that moment, she eyed me with nearly the same amount of skepticism, and a fair amount of curiosity, but contrary to all I was expecting, she just sighed and smiled, shrugging.

"Hey, I know you don't trust me, but if you give me a chance I'll explain on the way. But not here. Those cops'll be on my ass in a second if they even get the _idea_ in their brainless skulls that you might not be mine." She looked behind me, towards the store, where through the large windows the cops were milling about as they had before, but a few, as I looked, were still marking the progress of both of us. I grit my teeth in anger. Goddammit!! This fucking human _had_ me, and she _knew _it!

"_Fucking human_!" I spat, but nonetheless I clambered in the car, growling as the door slammed shut beside me, and glaring at the dashboard in front of me with an intensity that I hoped would set her car on fire. She, ignoring me, walked over to the driver's side and got in, letting out a huge, relieved sigh as she kicked the car into gear and, looking in all the mirrors, pulled from the parking space and out into the road, driving at a careful speed in the snowy conditions.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she said after a while, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she pulled through a four-way stop, "I mean, I saw that look you gave the Chief. You were the one that escaped, weren't you?"

I was a little surprised that she had managed to see that look. I thought I'd erased it quickly enough to escape notice… but that meant she had been watching me, maybe even _following_ me since before I had even gotten into the store! I growled at her, turning my glare to her for a second, sinking down further into the seat in my fuming bitterness.

"Guess that answers my question," she continued almost as if I had answered her completely civilly, something that I was certain a human could never do… or at least a human in their right mind. On that thought, I looked over to study her; _could_ she be crazy? Unnoticing of my look, or perhaps ignoring it like she seemed to be everything else I was doing, she continued, "I know you're wondering why I did that back there, so I'll tell you… but I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Maya. Maya Benson. But my friends call me Mouse, and I prefer that name."

I rolled my eyes, heaving a short, violent breath across the roof of my mouth, creating a snorting sound that the humans found so favorable when expressing disapproval or apathy. Maya, as I was expecting, neither took offense nor asked for any name on my part.

"Well, the reason I got you out of that is, one, I can't _stand_ to see another creature in pain like you would have been… and are," she looked troubled, shifting her hands on the steering wheel and blinking her expressive eyes a bit more frequently. I noticed suddenly that her skin was different from most other humans… as my former master had been large; his flesh a reddish, dirty tone, this human had smooth, lightly freckled skin the color of sand on her tall comfortably weighted frame. It was, admittedly, a refreshing change… not to mention that she didn't seem to stink like my master had. I wriggled my antennae under the tarp slightly, and breathed a little deeper, trying to place the strange scent that was not in any way human. I supposed she was wearing some sort of perfume or the like I'd heard of human females wearing, and put it to the back of my mind.

"Secondly, and barely any people know this, not even my family… but I'm an Irken Rights Activist. I just _hate_ slavery of any kind, and we don't even have a right to enslave your kind. Just because you were going to do it to us is no reason for humans to return the favor. We should have been bigger than that, but I guess the human race is a petty thing." She rolled her eyes with a light smile, chuckling a bit at that, though not in an amused way, more like she was disgusted at the blatant wrongness of her race. My brow furrowed instantly at that, not only puzzled that that human had just echoed my beliefs, but that a _human_ would even have considered such a thing. My, how my world was flipping….

"Thirdly, you're an escaped Irken. On Earth, you _can't_ survive on your own. You need at least one ally, and I'm more than willing to help you. Otherwise that scene with the police will just happen somewhere else, and next time I doubt anyone would care. Humans are selfish that way, especially when it comes to other races…" she sighed, very heavily, "God, how am I going to get my mom to accept this? She knows I hate slavery… I've refused to keep an Irken as a slave in the house since I was little…." Her head shook, sending her mousy brown hair in rippling waves across her shoulders, and she drummed her fingers on the wheel, "I guess I'll just tell her I liked you and I need someone to talk to… Yeah, that's as good as anything, I suppose. Closer to the truth than any other explanation…" she turned her head to look at me, and, to show her very clearly that I was still angry, I narrowed my eyes in a fiery glare back, my antennae flattening. She, knocking me completely off kilter again, actually _giggled_. _Giggled_, at _me_! Who the hell did this girl think she was??

_I am a _Prince_ of the Irken Empire! No human should laugh at _me

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said quickly, turning her eyes back to the road, "I didn't mean to laugh, it's just… you look so _angry_. I seriously can't understand why, but… I guess it just struck something funny in me. I didn't mean to offend."

I raised a brow… A human… _apologizing_…. to an Irken.

_Okay, NOW I've seen everything._

Shaking my head, I just turned away towards the window, curling up on the seat a bit and pulling the tarp closer to me, despite that the interior of the car was already quite warm and I didn't need any covering. I glared out the window for a long, long moment, just thinking. This human was so different from my former master. She said she wanted to help me, but I could never trust a _human_. Just think of what the humans had done to my race! Admittedly, she seemed like she genuinely didn't appreciate the current situation in 'alien relations' any more than I did, but that was no reason to trust her.

Then why did I find myself wanting to?

With a frustrated noise, I shook my head hard, clenching my teeth down and almost biting my tongue. It just… _annoyed_ me that she was right. That no matter how hard I tried to deny it, I _needed_ her. I _needed_ a human to take care of me in this harsh and unforgiving landscape. There was no escaping, no getting away from a master for good. There was only the desperate scramble to get to a better master…

I should have known even the Prince of the Irken Empire was a nothing in the system.

Besides… _what_ Empire?

"My name is Kiros." I muttered finally, not looking to her, and determined not to. I could sense her glance to me, but she made no comment yet, and I continued, "_Prince_… Kiros…"

"Well…" she finally said after a long moment, her voice quiet, and completely sincere, "I am glad to meet you, Prince Kiros. I hope I can help you… I really do."

After that, the rest of the car ride passed in silence.


	8. Demon Dreams

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

"Kiros…. Kiros, wake up…"

I mumbled a bit, curling up in the warmth of my bed and laying my antennae down, burying my head into my pillow. It was so comfortable here, why did they want to wake me up? Maybe if I didn't open my eyes Mom would get the message… she did that for me sometimes. An extra hour of sleep always made me really energetic, but she never minded too much. That's why I loved her so much… she was nice… always understanding…

"Kiros…." She was amused now, chuckling a bit, and I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me very gently. I groaned a little louder in protest, clutching my blankets tighter around me. _Moooom, I don't wanna get up!_

"Five more minutes…" I muttered lightly, shifting my shoulders into a more comfortable position, "I'll still ge' to my lessons…" I moved my head again, and suddenly one of my antennae slid across something that was bitingly, shockingly cold. I jerked, the stricken appendage snapping back to my head, and in that instant the haze of sleep cleared completely from my mind, and my eyes shot open. I breathed fast, going completely and utterly rigid, everything I had remembered from my dream worlds shattering like glass, fragmenting and melting away into nothing. I _wasn't_ in bed, trying to get out of taking my early math lessons; I was in a car, leaning against the door. The 'blanket' was the tarp, not really all that warm or soft, not like the dream. _That wonderful dream…._

Why did it have to be a dream?

"Kiros, are you okay?" startled, I jerked away, quickly swatting the hand on my shoulder with a force that even surprised me, cringing down and looking over. The brown haired girl, Maya, had a puzzled, nearly hurt look on her face, drawing her stinging hand back quickly. Unnoticing of it, I narrowed my eyes, looking at her accusingly. What did she think she was _doing_, waking me up? _Touching_ me?? No _human_ touched me! I wasn't her pawn!

Instead of answering her, I hissed out a curse, both of my antennae tight against my head in threat. She continued to look puzzled, though that hurt look had vanished, hidden away and masked by concern. I drew the tarp tight around me like a shield, watching her, marking her every movement as if I had been cornered. But my mind still reeled with the aftereffects of the dream. What was it that I had seen? Remembered? I… I thought… I had remembered my… mother? For a moment this human's hand on my shoulder had been mistaken for something I thought I'd forgotten. I shuddered at the notion of it, but despite my own angry will I could feel my eyes, my face growing hot, liquid welling up over my eyes and blurring my vision slightly at the impact of _knowing_, without a doubt… that once I had had such a life. Once my biggest worry was how well I would do… learning my lessons…

"Kiros… We're here. I'm sorry I woke you up, but I can't very well leave you in the car. It's going to get cold out here… The newscasts say that tonight is going to be the coldest one all winter." She paused, thinking for a moment, "I think they said around 23 below. That's _cold_, so c'mon… I'll bring you in and 'explain' you to my mom, and then we'll set you up somewhere comfortable for the night, is that okay?"

I just stared at her incredulously, my tears for the moment balked. Would this human _never_ cease to amaze me? Not only had she apologized _again_, but also she was, against all habits and nuances of her race that I had yet seen, asking _me_, an _Irken_, if I had an opinion on something. Just the prospect of something like that boggled me, and the blankness of my mind traveled to my eyes, my previous tenuously held glare turning into what was almost a 'freaked' gaze, clueless at how to respond to something like that.

_It could be a trap_, my mind, always rational, whispered. _She could be tricking you into answering, only to hit you when you try to answer. Master used to do things like that. All humans are the same. Don't trust her._

Taking my own advice, I just resumed my half-hearted glare, wiping away my blank look as best I could, despite how expectant she looked, as if she really was waiting for me to answer her. I, as I looked at her, realized that I wasn't the best judge on human expressions, as I never usually looked at their faces. The life of a slave was to keep your head down, after all, as otherwise you'd end up with one more bruise you didn't need. But this human, Maya, as she seemed to finally realize that I wasn't going to answer, furrowed her otherwise smooth brow very slightly, her eyes, stark green and fairly large, dulling somewhat in the same manner that I had seen in Gorit's eyes. As if a small spark of life had just been ripped from her.

One of my antennae rose slightly against my will, and with an effort I forced it back down, my eyes narrowing, forcing any thoughts of guilt out of my mind. This was a _human_. Irken's didn't feel guilt about making a _human_ feel bad! I huffed harshly, forcing my eyes away as I stared again at the dark gray bulk of the dashboard. If there was one thing I wasn't going to do, it was treat this other…. _creature_… like it was in any way like _me_.

"I'm sorry… Kiros…" her tone was a little pleading now, obviously not having any idea what she could have 'done wrong', and my head lowered slightly on my neck, my glare faltering. She sounded really _upset_… Damn, that wasn't what I had been going for… Why the _hell_ wasn't she acting like a normal fucking human?? I _knew_ how to deal with _that_! "I… I don't know what I did… but whatever it was, I didn't mean to do anything to you… If you want to stay in the car you can… I just thought…."

Oh, god, now didn't _this_ make me feel like a total asshole! I cringed down some more, nervously flicking one antenna to the side and back again as my thoughts raced after each other so fast I could barely catch them. I was so confused… This just wasn't _normal_. I didn't want to stay in the car, and I didn't want to hurt anyone, I just wanted to be free from the humans! Oh, _hell_… _Fucking_ hell….

"I don't _want_ to stay in the car!" I yelled, my voice harsh and grating against my throat painfully as I struggled not to let the turmoil inside take hold of me, failing miserably. With an effort, I tried to swallow down the thick lump that was forming in the midst of my esophagus, wrapping my arms tightly around my chest under the tarp, and feeling with surprise that I was trembling hard, "I just… I just want… God, I don't _know_ what I want!! Out of here…. Out of this life… _Somewhere_, god! Just… just leave me _alone_!!!"

Wait… did that squeaky little voice at the end there come from _me_? Maybe _I_ was the one that was upset?

Yeah, _maybe_.

I shivered again, before I drew myself as tightly into a ball as I could manage, pressing my knees into my chest and wrapping my arms around them, burying my head in that space. Trying to shrink? Yeah, I think I was trying to just disappear in that moment, to go back to that dream, where everything was so nice and warm and…. happy… It just tore at me, that knowledge that I'd been happy once. It was so much better to be ignorant… so blissfully ignorant. If only I hadn't allowed the warm air and padded seat of the car to lull me to sleep! I would never have remembered… would never have been fooled by my own half-awake thoughts…

Suddenly, a gentle pressure laid itself on my shoulder, and I froze, tensing up, my breathing stopping for a long moment. No… No, I didn't want comfort! I just wanted to be away from here! I wanted… I wanted…

_I want to go home…._

"Kiros…" Maya's voice was gentle, her tone quiet and soft. It reminded me a bit of my grandmother… How long had it been since I'd really thought of her? "Kiros, it's alright to be upset. You've been through a lot… but you don't have to go through it alone, okay? I want to help you… as much as I can." She sighed lightly, a breathy sound, very light, and nearly inaudible but for the fact that she had leaned over a bit to be able to rest her hand on my shoulder, "If you want to talk we can stay out here… but I understand if you don't feel like it right now. We should get you set up someplace comfortable… not to mention my parents are probably wondering why I'm just sitting in my car…" She faltered to a stop, her voice a little unsure… I guess she didn't know if she was helping or not. For a human, she was pretty perceptive. Yet another thing to surprise me about that disgusting race…

I shivered a bit, opening my eyes a slit to stare dully at my own knees in the darkness, wondering if I should try to wipe away the liquid trailing in tiny rivulets on my face before I looked up. I knew it was useless; she already knew I'd been crying. In fact, I could still feel her hand resting softly on my shoulder, her thumb making soothing little movements against my skin. Despite the fact that my mind was screaming at me to get away, to just open the car door and start running, I found myself too exhausted to move, and even more surprisingly, strangely comforted by her words. Not looking at her, I could almost mistake her for another Irken… There was no scorn in her voice, nor superiority or cruel intent. Just… something I hadn't heard since I was a child.

Hell, I hadn't even been treated like an equal by other Irkens.

With a tired sigh, I lifted my head, squinting one eye as I roughly wiped the back of one grimy hand against my cheek. I did the same for the other, hoping that it wasn't too noticeable, and finally looked over towards the human I had so unwillingly found myself stuck with. Maya offered a small, sympathetic smile, taking her hand from my shoulder now that I was looking around, and with that movement I felt the area of skin where her hand had been resting grow a bit cold again. Cautiously, I studied her like I had at the supply store, my gaze traveling slowly across her form, noting her green eyes, her gray, weather-beaten but comfortable-looking coat, the gray-brown hair that framed her face and continued down her shoulders in what looked to be layered waves. She, taking the opportunity to study me with around the same curious caution that I had, I guessed, finally settled back to looking at my eyes, and when I had established to myself that yes, this was indeed just a normal young human female, I looked up to meet them.

In a vain attempt, I tried to summon up the anger I felt for her race, the anger I had been harboring since I had been nothing but 'Truck-Driver' in my dead master's warehouses, but found that I just didn't feel like it. This human… was odd. I was both repelled by her species and attracted to her agonizingly confounding actions. Dare I say it; I was _curious_, curious in a manner that I had never in my life been about anything to do with human behavior.

"I… guess we should go in…" I said, my voice unintentionally quiet and afraid. No matter how curious I was, I couldn't shake the feeling of intense fear that being in the humans' clutches once again brought on. In the back of my mind, I could feel a looming presence of dread, the biting chill of that blind terror that came about as a result of not knowing if the next few moments of my life would be good or bad. It was a feeling that I wished I could leave behind, with my old situation, but of course I was never that lucky.

Maya smiled brightly, showing all of her blunt, white teeth, and though I caught noting particularly threatening in the expression, that didn't stop me from freezing a moment in the slight possibility that she might have some trap in store for me after all. But she did nothing but reach into the back of the car, picking up a few bags from the backseat that she had apparently picked up before finding me, and pulling them to her, looking to me afterwards, "Better get your tarp on, Kiros. It's still snowing outside, and you don't need a water burn on top of everything."

Despite the words, the way she said it was just a friendly suggestion, no demanding tone, not even _expecting_ to be obeyed, from what I could gather. I furrowed my brow slightly in puzzlement, before quickly moving the tarp to again cover my head, looking out the window on my side, and twitching an antenna at the slight pressure change in the air as Maya got out of the car and slammed the door on her side. A moment of silent trudging through the snow at the front of the car later, she was on the passenger side, and the door pulled away from me, letting in the horribly chill air. I instinctively brought the tarp tighter around me, lowering my head against the wind and trying not to let any of the flurry of falling snow come anywhere near me, and carefully, oh so carefully, making sure my boots weren't tangled, I swung my legs out of the car and stood up into the biting harshness of winter.

"It's just over here. The snow's a little deep, so watch you legs, alright?" she warned as she closed the door behind me, a warning I took fully to heart, as when I walked up what I guessed to be something of a walkway under all the drifting, swirling strings of frozen water crystals, I was very careful to keep my feet straight, to cautiously measure my steps and not touch my ragged, tattered pant legs against the sides of the temporary caves my feet made in the drifts. Luck was with me, or perhaps it was all the practice I had gotten in my few days of ceaseless wandering, because I managed to keep from getting my clothing too horribly wet, and as I nearly blindly followed the depressions that marked Maya's feet, who was making a path in front of me, I suddenly and unexpectedly found my feet hitting spongy carpet, my boots scattering snow all across it that they had picked up from outside. Behind me, I heard the 'whumph' of a heavy door closing, and in just a moment she was by me, helpfully pulling the tarp off me in a way that would make all the snow that had accumulated on it scatter on the floor away from me. One of my eyes squinted down as I looked to her after the tarp was off, my expression clearly showing my skepticism. Maya just grinned, shrugging as she threw the tarp to the side, and then proceeded to take off her coat and boots, leaving her in a white T-shirt and plain white socks. She looked down to my boots; raising an eyebrow in an equally skeptical look, before tossing some stray strands of her windblown hair back behind her shoulders in a casual way.

"Do you need any help with those? They look pretty wet." The question was, as far as I could tell, completely sincere, but I took my time answering nonetheless, watching her suspiciously, before with a long-suffering sigh I stuck one foot out. Even _I_ had to admit to myself that trying to take them off by myself, while being a stubborn declaration of independence, would be possibly the stupidest thing to do since stabbing yourself in the hand because you wanted to know how it felt. It would be… a little humiliating… but far less worse that the beatings I'd been subjected to all through my life.

Maya kneeled down, undoing my boots quickly and expertly, pulling them off one at a time and tossing them in with the other boots, looking curiously at the tattered, many holed shoes I had on under the thick boots, before she stood, looking a little bouncy, and letting out a quick little sigh of accomplishment. I looked back at her with a dryly unamused gaze, peeved over having to have the human take off my boots for me, and not willing to let it go until she knew very well that I didn't like it. Her green eyes met mine, and for a second she looked confused, before she looked to the boots, then back at me. She smiled, but just as quickly wiped it away, apparently not wanting to 'offend' me more than she already had. I narrowed my eyes in an accusing way

_What's so funny, human?_


	9. What is Home?

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

"Maya?" My thoughts were broken by a considerably older voice coming from the direction of the house, and I shrunk back slightly. The voice was familiar, a lot like Maya's, except older, more worn and beaten by years of use. My eyes drifted over to the door that led into the house from the coatroom that we were in now, and involuntarily I took a step back, a voice in the back of my mind telling me to run. But of course, in a bare second my common sense had caught up with me. _Run where?_ I'd taken my boots off, and couldn't very well expect to get very far outside. Not to mention that Maya was standing by the door.

Yet again, she'd expertly maneuvered me into a position that I had no choice in. I growled under my breath, my antennae laying down flat in my displeasure at the whole situation all around. Was this the trap she had set me up with?? Damn that human!

"It's alright, Kiros…" I snapped my gaze over to Maya as she spoke, and was a little surprised when she walked away from the door and towards me a bit, actually standing in a position that was more like she would protect me than anything. I was shocked for a moment, my eyes widening and my antennae shooting up. But it was merely a moment before logic broke in again.

_She's protecting you… like she_ owns _you. Like you're an_ investment_! Nothing but a human, through and through!_

I shot my most venom filled glare at her back, but erased it in a moment as a shape loomed in the doorway, and with a tediously slow and impossibly loud, harsh squeak the door to the house opened, revealing the owner of the voice I had heard before. A woman of what I guessed to be around mid-fifty's in human years stood in the doorway, her curious deep brown eyes finding Maya first, a puzzled look on her slightly wrinkled, time weathered face, but in a split second she had moved her gaze to me, looking surprised for a moment, and again I cursed my lacking interpretation skills. Human expressions were so difficult to decipher, and try as I may as I looked at her with a heavy dose of terror creeping up and down my body, I couldn't find if she was happy about the surprise or angry. She stared at me, her gaze somewhat harsh in the manner of all humans, before she looked to Maya, her tone this time stern enough to cause me to cringe.

"And what's this now?" she demanded, her glare held on the girl, who I was surprised to find, as I glanced to her, looked sheepish and admonished, lowering her eyes to the floor a bit. It was astounding, to see this human girl, who had stared down an entire unit of police, nearly cowering under the glare of nothing but an older female.

"I'm sorry mom…"she said meekly, shrugging her shoulders somewhat, "I... I know what I've said about it and all… but… I just needed someone to talk to. You know I don't have many friends… and…." she chanced a glance up to her mother, her green eyes pleading. I furrowed my brow, watching her curiously; I had never imagined that this human could look so… helpless. So engrossed in this sudden change I was that I nearly forgot that her mother was even in the room before she spoke, her voice still stern, but very slightly softer than it had been before.

"Oh, so you just went out and got a slave for yourself on a whim?? Maya, I expected _better_ of you. You _know_ you should discuss these things with family before you go out and do them! I have half a mind to tell you to go right back and return him!" as Maya winced under that last sentence, I found myself growing slightly panicked. Where would she take me if her mother said something like that?? I could always try to escape anyway… I didn't have the tarp, but… but….

Dammit, I'd die out there!

"And where are we going to _put_ him?? How are we going to _feed_ him?? You should think ahead on these things, young lady! Haven't you heard the reports on there being a dangerous rouge Irken around? The reports said it had red eyes, are you certain this one isn't it??"

At this, though, Maya looked up at her mother, looking skeptical.

"Mom, they haven't even _caught_ that Irken yet, and even if they did they certainly wouldn't _sell_ him!! What do you think I am, and idiot?? I know better than _that_, at least!" she gestured towards me, and in instinctive reaction I stepped back again, lowering my head, all too aware of how this discussion could mean my life or death, "I get enough allowance to pay for his way easy. You see how cheap that food is in the stores! I already bought enough with my own money to keep him for at least a week. You don't have to worry, I'll set him up on the floor in my room until we can find a better place for him."

Somehow even _I_ could tell that last part hadn't gone over well, but Maya put up a hand, looking at her mother in stern admonishment, like she'd just been insulted. It seemed she knew more about why her mother seemed so suddenly scandalized than I could guess.

"Mom, get those _sick_ thoughts out of your head _right _now. You at least raised me better than _that_, don't you think??" the near anger in her tone was impressive, especially considering how she had been acting around her mother previously. It was as if something very important to her had just been challenged, and though I didn't see what the problem was, I could tell it was something serious. Cautiously, I slowed my breathing, remaining as still and silent as possible in an effort not to be noticed as mother and daughter exchanged glares in something that could only be a battle of wills.

Maya kept her gaze, but she was the one to speak first, very quietly and seriously, almost in a pleading tone, but more than sure of herself, "Mom… you _know_ me."

It was another long moment more before Maya's mother threw her hand up in the air, shaking her head and speaking in an irritated, defeated tone, "Fine! Do what you want; I don't care anymore. Just keep the thing from ruining the house and get it clean! I'll break the news to your father… and you'd better be _grateful_."

Maya suddenly smiled, her previously pensive mood lifted as if it was never there, and she made a squeak before bouncing a bit, "Wow, thank you so much, mom! I'll never, ever, evereverever forget it!" In an instant, she had rushed to her mother, throwing her arms around her in a tight hug before breaking away too fast for the older women to even do anything, turning to me, and as her mother was behind her and wouldn't see it, chancing a wink of the same conspiring manner as at the shop. "C'mon! Let's get you set up and clean!"

I was still wary, my antennae falling from their slightly raised posture, but of course any hesitation on my part would be looked down upon with suspicion by the older human, and as tenuous as my position here was, I dreaded what would happen if she somehow changed her mind. So, with a heavy weight seeming to slam down on my shoulders, I began to slowly creep forward, the oppressive brown gaze of that woman boring into me at every step. Maya looked at her mother as she noticed my more than obvious discomfort, her eyes narrowing disapprovingly, and elbowed her slightly. In that moment, as Maya's mother looked to her daughter in question, the gaze was gone, and I hurried past the human and into the door of the house, breathing a silent sigh of relief. The girl stepped up behind me, setting the bags she held against the wall, before she moved to take the lead, but looking back to me with a grin, her tone whispering so her mother wouldn't hear.

"She's not as bad as she seems, I promise… you just gotta know how to get around her."

_Yeah… not bad to_ you_, human_.

I gave Maya a good, long glare, and to my victory her grin faltered slightly, before she stepped up her pace, heading through the weaving hallways of the house. Taking my eyes off her and looking to my new surroundings, I was a bit taken aback to find the place much, much different from that of my former master's, though I supposed that in my mind, I had assumed that all humans lived in the same conditions as that deplorable other. The walls, instead of being made of some strange, yellowed substance, were a dark, rich color of wood, no holes or stains apparent at all. In fact, several peaceful pictures were hung up at intervals down the hall, depicting grassy plains or animals. I found my gaze lingering on these curiously, and I wondered how the humans could find such peace in the same world that housed such horrible things. But I was forced to break my gaze as Maya began to round a corner, and I picked up my pace to catch up a bit. If there was one thing I didn't want, it was to be stuck alone in this house, even if that forced my only companion to be a _human_.

The room she passed through seemed to be a kitchen, as I saw a sink full of water and dishes left unfinished in the corner against the wall. I gave it an intentionally wide berth, narrowing my eyes and watching the girl extra carefully for any movements towards the water. But despite my misgivings, she didn't make any move towards it, just headed off across the room, taking the long way around the dark, cherry-wood kitchen table for the express reason of avoiding the sink, as if reading my mind. I followed her with a sour expression, though again found my eyes wandering, looking out the windows, which had no cracks in the clear, clean glass. The untattered curtains that matched the walls with a light, tasteful crème color hung down gracefully on either side of the window, framing it beautifully. The table was clear of any decoration except for a long, embroidered tablecloth, set perfectly on it, and the counter against the wall was filled with things needed for cooking, including a clean and shining silver microwave.

Maya led me through a much smaller hallway that was reached through an unobtrusive door in the back of the kitchen, seeming like she was taking the 'back way' through the house or some such, as this hallway remained undecorated, and the walls only had wood paneling up until about three or four feet off the ground before the rest, up to the hardwood ceiling, was some sort of white drywall. The ceiling itself was lower as well, and sloping downwards as we walked further. My antennae, having risen to a normal set when I was studying the rest of the house, quirked slightly while I observed these odd surroundings. I could feel the shafts quivering in the vaguely moving air currents of the steadily closing area. Before me, about halfway to the end of the narrow hallway, Maya paused, turning her stark green eyes back to look at me as if checking that I was still following, and I froze momentarily before looking back at her, trying to convey my question without actually having to _speak_ to her.

"This is the area below the stairway," she explained. I couldn't tell if she'd caught my look, but as she was already answering my question, I didn't care, "My room isn't too far from here. It's the hardest place to get to in this house, and I like it that way."

I was a bit confused for a moment. Hardest place to get to? I could understand living like that if she was maybe not a part of the household, or not a favored daughter, but as far as I knew she looked like she was on good terms with her parents… Then why was she given a room at the end of what, I could already tell, was the slave run of the house? It just didn't make sense! Even more confusing was that she said she _liked_ it there!

In the midst of my thoughts, while I was distracted and not taking much stock of my surroundings, I almost didn't notice when I was led through another, much smaller door, this one leading to a very low but long room, not particularly wide, with a single light bulb overhead that came on automatically when the door was opened. This place, I could see from the inadequate light, was used for storage, several sets of drawers and some extra, somewhat dusty mattresses leaning against one wall. The ceiling was decorated with a few sparkling strings from some holiday long past, and against the back, I could see a gigantic mirror reflecting the dim light and the ghostly shadows of our movements. Against my will I felt a slight tremble go through me at the almost inherent creepiness of the place, but we were through quickly, Maya opening the door on the other side and leading through a very short hallway to a doorway that had no door.

"Home sweet home," she said with a smile, moving into the center of the large room and flaring her arms out to each side, twirling around slightly to gesture to the whole expanse. I rolled my eyes as blatantly as I could manage, as I knew humans had a hard time telling where an Irken's eyes were focusing, as we had no pupils. But my attention was taken away from her once again as I was caught by the surroundings. Surprised, I turned my head to look at the room, turning around a bit to take in the entire span.

The moderately large room was simple in basic design, the floor of a plain polished wood overlaid with a rather comfortable-looking rug. The walls were the same dark wood paneling as the rest of the house, with one wall to the side holding a door to somewhere I hadn't yet seen, but here the surfaces were covered with various pictures and a few small hanging motifs. A couple photographs of various space vessels that I didn't recognize as human design were tacked up in one area, and a picture frame held a detailed map of the planet Irk. I stared at this in fascination, as though I had an idea that I might have been there before, I didn't remember anything of my species' home planet whatsoever.

With a bit of an effort, I managed to tear my eyes off that picture for a moment, my curiosity about the rest of the room overpowering my curiosity to learn more about a planet I had no memory of. In the far corner, I saw a simple bed, obviously since this was Maya's room it had to belong to the human girl. There were no lavish furnishings anywhere, no attempts at any decoration other than was tastefully sparse. The one window in the room was fairly small, set higher up than most of the windows in the house, and facing in such a way that a large tree outside blocked most of the view. The thing in the room that seemed to be the most used was nearer to the door, set up so that anyone coming into the room wouldn't be able to see it very easily, as there was a large, double-sided bookcase rising up about halfway to the ceiling beside it.

It was a computer, and as I watched, Maya ambled over to it, setting herself down into the chair in front of it and whirling it to face me, just shrugging a bit, "So this is my room. Not much, I know, but I don't like to overdo things. I hope it's okay with you that you'll have to sleep on the floor until I can find a bed frame… but I can at least get you a mattress and blankets so you don't have to be uncomfortable."

I just stared at her for a while. Why didn't she just _give it up_ already? She said herself to her mother that I was her slave! I mean… humans going _against_ other humans…. It was ludicrous! I'd have a better chance of going out into the snow and not burning than finding a human that cared about anything having to do with an Irken.

"Why are you _doing_ this?" I demanded suddenly, throwing about as much indignance and anger into the question that I could manage as my resentment snapped up and gripped me in its hold. I just didn't understand anything, and in a way, I found myself not wanting to, because that allowed me to keep my anger, to keep that one thing that was getting me through, "Why are you acting _nice_?? We both know this is just a _ruse_, and I'm just a fucking slave, so why keep the _goddamn_ act?? Just fucking _beat_ me already and get it over with!"

She just looked at me for a long moment in surprise after that outburst, her eyes watering as she suddenly, jerkily brought her hands, which had previously been lying casually in her lap, close to her, as if I had suddenly slapped her and she didn't know what to do. I'd seen that look so many times… it was impossible to misplace it, even when it was on a human's face instead of an Irken's. Immediately, I felt the hot tendrils of shame rise in my gut, and even my mind was showing its displeasure at what my actions had caused.

_Oh, great, look what you did _now_. Feel big and bad, _Prince_ Kiros? Feel important? Feel like a_ human

I winced at that last part, lowering my eyes and looking away, focusing on a spot on the floor where the rug ended and the wood began. I suddenly had absolutely no idea where to put my hands, so I crossed my arms behind my back in an effort to relieve that. It didn't help, and I began fidgeting, scuffing my worn shoe against the hard part of the floor. It was a long moment before I realized I could hear something, and one antenna shot up automatically, tilting to catch the noise.

"…No… No, I won't, _ever_… because you deserve better than that shit… Kiros, you're not a slave. You're free to go whenever you want… I'll take you away myself. It's not an act. I _don't_ hate you. I don't hate you, so why do you hate _me_?" I heard a long, shuddering sigh, and I narrowed my eyes at the floor, just trying to focus on the designs in the wood, distracting myself a bit to try and keep that ever-growing guilt at bay, "Don't even _think_ of answering that, I know why… I _know_…"

I heard the sound of the chair scooting back a bit, and saw, from the corner of my eye, her white-socked feet treading softly across the rug and she moved to the other door in the room, opening it and reaching in to flick the light on. She still spoke quietly, a bit defeatedly, "This is the bathroom. There's a shower in there… All these newer homes are connected to the city system, which holds IL's… Irken liquids. It's the lower knobs… turn the left one for hot, the right for cold. Soap is in the dish if you want it." She didn't say any more than that, and I took my chance while I could, hurrying towards the bathroom, but she put her arm across the doorway quickly before I went in. With a near yelp, I jumped back, looking to her with wide eyes and expecting to be hit at any time, but she just made a half-hearted little laugh, shaking her head slightly, "Hey, stop being so jumpy, will you? I'm not going to hurt anyone…" She turned to a dresser behind her, pulling out a drawer and taking out a T-shirt, before looking at me skeptically, and taking out a pair of jeans. She held them out to me, "I don't know if these will fit you, but I don't think you want to keep running around in those beat up cloths… at least not until they've been cleaned…" That was all she said, taking her hand out of the way, and I snatched the offered cloths from her, darting into the bathroom and closing the door quickly.

As soon as I was in, I could feel some of the fear and jittery nerves vanishing, my tense muscles relaxing ever so slightly from unconscious stress that had been caused by the position I was in, by basically being an animal in desperate flight from an unknown but ever-looming predator. God, it felt good to not be under the constant watch of a human. Not since before I had walked into the damned town had I felt any better. Granted, even wandering aimlessly through the forest I had never particularly felt very _good_, and now, holed up in a tiny room with no windows, I really couldn't see much of an improvement in my situation in life…

But at least I could take a shower.

And man… did I _need _one.


	10. Piece by Piece

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

* * *

_

Given the opportunity, I took a good, long shower, making sure I was so clean that I didn't doubt I could walk into a sterilized room without going through processing. I had never taken a warm shower before that I could remember, and I found it to be an experience that I would have liked to extend, but for the fact that the liquid running out of the showerhead was getting cold, and in that unpleasantness I was forced to cut my time under the running 'water' short. After I had stepped out into the slightly dryer portion of the plainly decorated bathroom, wet and dripping all over the rug but feeling good, I took a towel from where they were kept on the rungs beside the bath. I vigorously dried off, just taking absolute delight in the clean feeling I had. It was so strange, that feeling, but so invigorating… it seemed as if any worries looming over me were diminished and just no longer important anymore, as long as I was clean, dry, and warm…

_It'd help if you were clothed, too…_

Of course, at thinking that, I glanced over to my old clothes and my bag, which I had set to the side, making a face to myself as I thought of that grimy, tattered material even _touching_ my clean skin. It just wasn't something I wanted to be happening, so I allowed my eyes to shift to where I had thrown down the clothes that Maya had given me. The crumpled material in the corner looked very clean compared to what I had just been wearing… so unlike the clothing of my former master that it seemed nearly unreal… And even better, I found as I lifted them up to study them more closely, _these_ clothes, though a bit bigger than I would have liked them, looked like they would fit me well enough. I grinned to myself slightly; my old clothes I had had to grow into, as I had only gotten one pair for the year and they had been a lot bigger than I was…

Without any more hesitation than I had already shown, I took the T-shirt and jeans and slipped them on, making very certain that they were as comfortable as they were going to get. The unfamiliar material felt odd against my skin, much thicker than the nearly nonexistent strands of the ratty things I had been wearing, and in a way I found it uncomfortable, as if I was wearing more than one layer of clothing. But with a long, quiet sigh I took my mind off it, moving to study the rest of the room.

It was an odd room, the bathroom. Colored a pale yellow for the walls that could be painted, and set up with a sink and some cupboards, besides the obvious toilet. In fact, it seemed almost creepily bare of any decoration whatsoever. I wondered briefly why there was no customization in the place… not way to make it seem a bit more familiar to the one that owned it, but of course conceded to my own common sense that kicked in not a moment later; for all I knew, the room blared it's ownership. I couldn't be one to judge, and didn't particularly want to be.

Suddenly, in a bout of spontaneous, almost playful vanity that had appeared out of nowhere and, I had to admit, surprised even me, I walked over to the mirror that was set up lengthwise on the door, utilizing the towel that I had set to the side while getting dressed to wipe away the moisture from the reflecting surface. As that was finished, I paused a moment, just staring into it, my eyes being reflected back at me with all their hypnotizing life that I had been caught by… how long ago was it? A few days, a week? It was hard to judge the time since I had escaped… But pulled back from such close investigation, feeling very self-conscious but daring, I moved to strike a pose before it. It felt very silly, with my legs splayed and an idiotic grin on my face as I crossed my arms, but it served it's purpose well enough, and I found that I had to fight to keep myself from laughing quietly at how ridiculous I looked. The baggy clothing hung off me rather noticeably, the pants a good five inches too long, very nearly hiding my feet, now unshod in any type of covering whatsoever, from view. I watched myself with an nearly detached curiously as, in my reflection, my antennae rose up, and merely because of the fact that I could see it, I flicked one, and then wriggled both, a movement that was imitated in the depths of the mirror. I allowed myself the smallest, palest smile. I'd never had much experience with mirrors besides what I'd needed to drive, and with a mirror _this_ size… Well, no one could blame me if I wanted to have a bit of fun.

_Though…_ I thought, standing back and putting a hand in a consciously dramatic way to my chin in yet another pose, ridiculous as the other but almost addicting in the way I could see myself move, _I am far too skinny to be healthy. I should eat something…._

A bit surreptitiously, my eyes snuck fleetingly over to my ragged, tatty brown bag, my oldest possession and the one thing out of all the things that I had ever or would ever own that I knew I would always refuse to ever part with. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed the slightly movement in the mirror of my brow getting just a very light wrinkle in it, furrowing at the same time as my eyes narrowed, a thoughtful look if I had ever seen one. I had food there, in my bag. But it was likely almost too spoiled to eat by now, not even the cold of my wanderings having been enough to preserve it for too long, especially since the contents of my bag had spent most of the journey against me, warmed by the feeble warmth of my body. It was probably safe to say that any food in there was inedible or very close to it… so the only thing that was left to me to do…

…_Is go out and ask her for it…_

I immediately quailed at that thought, not wanting to leave the brief sanctuary of the bathroom to go and face a situation that I still had very little idea of how to deal with. Go out and face the _human_…? I already felt the itching tingle of cold fear settle like a lead weight in my gut, interestingly making any thoughts of hunger that I'd had fly away as if they had never been there. I didn't want to do it… Perhaps if I locked myself up in the bathroom, I would be safe from the looming confrontation, perhaps she would leave me be…

But none of that would change the fact that I needed food. I may have had enough liquid here, that was certain with the shower being able to spout Irken safe 'water'… but without any sort of food I would die just as easily as if I had continued on in the forest and let my supplies run out. A heavy sigh escaped my lips, and dejectedly I turned my gaze to the floor, feeling the familiar feather-like pressure against my scalp as my antennae fell down to brush against it, signaling as clearly as day that the idea discomforted me. There was a brief flare in the back of my mind of annoyance at them… even my own _body_ was all too willing to reveal my emotions against my will, even when I would have much rather remained stoic and… and… I found myself unable to concentrate any longer, my annoyance too great to even want to. The air was getting stuffy, in any case, and that was as good an excuse to go out as anything.

My fingers found the doorknob, twisting and pulling the door back towards me with tedious caution, long years of instinct forcing me to attempt to remain inconspicuous. When nothing surprising presented itself to me, I sighed lowly, and suddenly found myself turning my thoughts inwards as I felt my annoyance abruptly shift it's direction so that it was no longer at my antennae, but at _me_. What was I, a Prince or a _coward_? If I was a Prince, as the title I had kept through the years _said_, then why wasn't I _acting_ like one? With an angered movement, I shook my head almost violently at myself, squaring my shoulders and looking as determined as possible. Why did one female human, that probably couldn't match me in a fight if she tried, scare _me_?

I was letting myself be ruled by what I learned as a slave _far_ too much, I realized. I should have let such feelings go when I escaped from that wretched place, but it seemed that even through countless days of trudging through the snow and reflecting on my victory it wasn't such a simple thing to do. But I wasn't going to let my own ingrained fear stop me anymore… I was no _slave_. I was _not _a _slave_! I was _Prince_ Kiros, and I was _free_.

As I walked out of the bathroom, flipping the light off as confidently as I could manage, I was suddenly greeted by a sight surprising enough to make me stop in my tracks just a bare few steps out of the door, all my thoughts of going out and showing that I was no longer a timid slave forgotten. On the floor, laying not another pace before me, was one of the mattresses I had seen resting against the wall in the storage room right outside the bedroom, looking surprisingly clean and nearly new, with no lingering dust to speak of. Blankets were draped neatly across it, several layers of them, all seeming just as clean as anything else in the room. The sight of that, set up so carefully, managed to catch me off guard, and I found myself unconsciously searching the room for an answer, throwing my eyes this way and that, before my gaze finally landed and jolted to a halt on the somewhat shadowed form of the human girl, who had been reclining in her chair by the computer, her long legs propped up in what seemed to me to be an uncomfortable position on part of the desk. Her head was turned to look at me, probably having been that way since I had come out of the bathroom, I realized, and her abnormally large eyes reflected the glow of the computer screen. As she saw me look to her, her mouth slowly twisted into a small smile, the expression on her face what I guessed, against all my difficulty understanding it, to be sly, and I furrowed my brow, feeling the tiny muscles in my head lift my antennae up into the air.

"Um…?" the questioning sound escaped my thought before I had even thought of it, and I looked to the makeshift bed, and then back to her, unable to really finish my thought for the sole reason that I had no idea what my question would be. The human girl, however, answered in the same moment as she looked back to whatever she had been doing doing, a small smile flitting across her face so quickly that I nearly didn't catch it before her face was angled out of sight. If I perhaps hadn't been so curious for the moment, I probably would have shown some measure of offense at that, but as it was I felt far too off kilter to be bothered too much by her apparent amusement.

"Yeah, that's for you. I pulled one of the spare mattresses from the storage room and gave you some of my extra blankets. I know it isn't much… but I hope it'll do alright." She didn't say anything else, her eyes locked on the screen of the computer. Again, I glanced back at the newly set up bed, my thoughts more than a little skeptical on the idea that it could be mine as she said, but, figuring that there really wasn't much more to ask about it that hadn't already been answered, I turned my attention to watching the computer screen. In all my life I hadn't heard or seen much of computers, as back at the warehouses I hadn't been allowed anywhere _near _them, only seeing them from a distance and learning what I could from snatches of conversation overheard from the human workers. Being able to see one up close, and not only that, but a type of computer that looked _new_, was something very unusual, and I couldn't help but want to take full advantage of the opportunity.

It was a long moment before I had realized that, in my wonderment at the device, I had stepped up to stand behind the girl, and even then I was only alerted to the fact that she was so close by the sudden sound of her shifting her position in her high backed office chair. Instinctively, I flinched, a brief thought of jumping away surfacing in my thoughts, but my eyes were caught, and I couldn't back away yet without knowing what was there on the screen. Subconsciously, I could distantly feel her eyes on me as I read the words across the top of the softly glowing screen.

The Irken Rights Associates.


	11. Conversations

**READ FIRST: **

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of **ChibiXzaide**. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her. _

* * *

The harsh facts of this, a few simple words, hit me like a brick, and I found my breathing getting heavier and faster, my eyes going round and wide. Again, that sickeningly foreign sensation of being somewhere outside my body, looking down upon myself, settled down upon me, but this time… this time it wasn't caused from fear -or at the very least not _all_ from fear- but from pure shock. The human had been right… She was right, and had been telling the _truth_…. there _were_ humans who cared about Irkens. In a daze I began reading down slightly, skimming quickly over the pledge the main page made… the goals of the program, and I felt myself growing progressively more amazed as time went on, my muscles jittery and something fluttering in the midst of my gut, making me feel as if I had to make an effort to even remain standing. The humans were working towards getting better conditions in general… coming close to making a law that all slave masters would have to follow to give their Irkens chemical baths for the rains… Improving the conditions in the factories… Breaking down the brothels….

"What _is_ this…?" the words came before I had even realized I'd said them, and I again felt rather than saw Maya take her legs off from their propped position on the desk. The human leaned forwards, her lanky arm stretching to delicately take hold of the white, oblong device that I had before distantly heard of being referred to as 'the mouse'. Moving the mouse so that the pointer on the screen shifted, she went to position it over a small button on the bottom of the screen entitled 'Member Networks'.

"I'll show you," she said after what seemed to be a long, tense moment. As she clicked the button, another screen came up almost instantly, and I quickly read what I could, gathering that from the bars and words, the computer was asking for something called a 'password' and 'screen name'. Maya pulled out the keyboard from under the desk a bit noisily, rapidly clicking a few buttons, and I was granted just enough time to read that her 'screen-name' was 'Mouse', the same name she had told me she preferred as a nickname, before the page changed yet again, asking for another 'password', and apparently the answers to a few questions that I didn't even have time to do more than skim my eyes over before she had finished and the screen had changed again. Before my overwhelmed and slightly hurting eyes the screen came alive with words and names, revealing another page that thought I tried, I couldn't make any sense of whatsoever other than it was another page of what was abbreviated as the InRA. It was just a moment before a pop-up appeared over all the other information on the screen, flashing urgently with a light that made me squint as my eyes were already hurting and nothing about the computer was helping them any. That window apparently made the speakers of the computer ding as it appeared, as the sound reached my antennae a mere second later. I read the words on it silently, as best as I could while squinting, the feeling of being helplessly out of my depth rising in me from the onslaught of all this new information as Maya typed her reply.

**Salamander: Hey, Mouse! Long time no see, eh? What you been up to?**

There was a little blip from the computer speakers as Maya entered in her reply, the words appearing under the first an instant later.

**Mouse: A lot. You know me, always have somewhere to go and things to do. What's the situation going?**

Before I could even get my muddled mind to form a question to ask, Maya answered, "This place is the networks for all Irkens rights activists around the world. It's the only safe site where no member has ever been found out. Every new member has to have extensive background checks and an interview before they're let on… I was one of the earlier members… It's grown, but there's still not too many people, something I'm not proud of…"

I just glanced to her blankly as I let my addled mind absorbed that information, allowing one of my antenna flick lightly, before another ding announced the reply, and my eyes were drawn back inexorably to the screen.

**Salamander: Heh, they guys out here are still trying to get to that escaped Irken before the cops do. It's hell out there, from what I can gather. Too much snow to get a trail, even with dogs, and they keep getting distracted by a bunch of deer in the area. Bet Doe would find that hilarious.**

Maya glanced up at me a moment, as if gauging my reaction, but my mind had already drifted off as I remembered my trek through the deeply falling snow, only just now realizing how close I had probably come to being caught. The deer in that area… that was something I knew of fairly well. I was at least glad that even _those_ had been able to help me somewhat, no matter how indirectly. After what seemed like an instant, Maya cleared her throat, and I managed to drive away my thoughts and look at her, quirking a brow in question.

"Kiros, do you care if I tell them that I've found you, or do you want to keep that under wraps?"

I froze a moment, all my muscles just… stopping. Tell them that I had been found by one of their members already…? I knew this was a type of… human _resistance_ against it's own actions, and such information would likely spare them a lot of time and effort on a fruitless endeavor, but no matter what I had seen I couldn't bring myself to _trust_ them. As far as I knew, they would force Maya to bring me to them, where I could be kept in a cage or worse, and if there was one thing I didn't want, it was to be somewhere more unknown and unstable than my current situation. I shook my head slightly, but upon suddenly realizing with a panic that Maya might take that as a go ahead; I spoke quickly before she could begin typing.

"Don't…!" I cut myself off, not wanting to say any more than I had to. She, still looking at me, quirked a brow, one of her odd human eyebrows rising, and I wasn't certain if she was reacting to what I was sure was desperate terror on my face, or her own thoughts. Nonetheless, when she typed her reply, nothing about it gave any sign that I might have been in the room with her.

**Mouse: I'm sure she would. But at least with the trail being so lost then there's a better chance he'll get somewhere slightly safe, huh? I hope he does… But there's no use worrying about it too much when we can't do anything. How has your mission done? Did you manage to get those files out?**

_Files..? What files?_ Again, Maya answered before I had a chance to even voice my question.

"Salamander had a field mission to get secret files from a government building. They were the only copies, thank god for that, and they had to do with an implant that the enemies of the Irken race wanted to install in every slave's brain to make them nothing but walking drones, unable to think for themselves or do anything more than the most basic of actions on their own. We activists consider that nothing more than fucking _Xenocide_. So we took measures to destroy the research and take the files so nothing like that can ever happen."

It took me a full minute of agonizing silence to fully process that information, my mind wiping itself absolutely blank as I found my limbs shivering slightly at the thought of having… _something_, implanted in my brain, taking over my mind… No! No, no, it would never happen! It couldn't… god; they couldn't have seriously considered that…! Not even in all the horror stories the humans had against my own race had anything so heartless been done…! Oh, _no_… It was just… just _wrong_…

By the time the ding of a reply had jogged my panicking mind out of my thoughts for a moment, my mouth was dry from having been hanging open so long, my mind reeling from so many racing thoughts as I tried to follow some line of coherency.

They couldn't… they just _couldn't_….

**Salamander: Pfft, almost didn't. They stepped up their security, but luckily I've stepped up my skills. I got 'em out, anyway, though. Damn idiots won't be able to use that research anytime soon, especially not with the measures we've taken to make sure they don't… What about you? You manage to plant that bug?**

_Blip…_

**Mouse: Yeah, I did. Typed up my report and sent it in just a few minutes ago. Now I'm waiting to see if another mission opens up.**

_Ding..!_

**Salamander: Same here. Oh, wait… one just came up for me… Must go. Seeya later, Mouse.**

_Blip…_

**Mouse: Bye, 'Mander. Good luck.**

_Ding..!_

**Salamander: Same to you.**

With that, the entire conversation ended, and Maya closed the pop-up, erasing the discussion as if it never was. A long, heavy breath escaped me, and I suddenly realized that I had been holding my breath. It was all too much… the humans having the gall to try _that_… having to be checked by their own damn _species_… Was this entire race in a permanent civil war against itself?? I didn't doubt it, considering what all signs pointed to. I only distantly took note of Maya as she signed out of her account on that site, quickly shutting off the Internet and then swiveling her chair to face me. She didn't have to move very far, for I had unknowingly, in my concentration at reading and horror at what I was learning, leaned down until I was basically even with her, one hand having gripped almost painfully tightly onto the back of her chair. Her swiveling caused me to lose my grip on the smooth black material, and I let out a quick yelp as I immediately jumped back, breathing fast, staring her with the confusion and fear of a trapped animal. I still just couldn't understand it! The entire idea of those implants… the _narrowness_ that my race had escaped it by… not even _knowing_…

"That's why we exist," Maya said slowly, watching me carefully, her face illuminated in soft lines by the image in the background of the screen. Her words confused me for a long moment… but she clarified an instant later, the lexis as if reading every thought and question in my mind, "We… the humans that care… we _can't_ let that happen. I_ won't_ let it happen. _We_ _won't_!" I cringed slightly from the force of her voice, but she took no notice, a deep note of passion and belief coming into her voice as she spoke, "We don't want a world like that… _I_ don't want a world like that. Humans hundreds of years ago used to enslave other _humans_. We realized that that was wrong, and it took years of fighting and war, but we stopped it. We _stopped_ it. We said that we'd never do it again, but look at us _now_. People think it's right because you aren't human… but I say what's to _classify_ what's human?? _Humanity_?? You're not an animal… your race isn't a race of _pets_, they're _people_! Why can no one else see that??" She made a gesture to me, and I could feel my eyes widening a bit as I stood where I had stopped. I wouldn't have been able to move if I'd wanted to, too caught up in what she was saying… what she truly _believed_. I could _feel _the power of her words in the air, how she was speaking them with _truth_… with _passion_… And for a moment… just a fleeting, tense moment, I could _see_ it… I could _see and understand_ what she was saying… "So you're green, so what? We're _tan_! Isn't _that_ weird? I mean, god, we'd spent all those years trying to find other intelligent life in the universe, but when we _do_ find it, we get into a war with it! But that doesn't bother me, not as much as the fact that we not only beat you're race so humiliatingly… we had to _rub it in_. We had to take all your dignity, enslave your people, take over your planet and use it for our own… ally ourselves with other races that yours had conquered… " She shook her head suddenly, having apparently worn herself out for now, or realized what she was doing, "...I'm sorry. Didn't mean to go on a rant at you…."

Caught a bit in the aftereffects of such a powerful speech, I found that I could still manage to shake my head a bit, consciously having to lower my antennae as I looked at her. I think there may have been a great deal of shock written on my face, because she smiled a bit as she watched me, though there was something wrong with the expression, as if she didn't exactly mean it. I had but a moment to puzzle over it before she had swiveled back towards the screen, speaking quietly.

"I need some music on… something calming… I hope you like Celtic…" with that, she clicked the mouse a few times, and within a moment there was the quiver of a few notes drifting through the air from the speakers on the computer. A voice came not too long after, soft and clear, a bit hard to understand, but obviously human. It was a matter of moments before I found myself listening hard to the melodic notes drifting through the air, interested in the twining notes, before finally deciding that I at least didn't _hate_ the smooth, unobtrusive music. After I had waited along, somewhat apprehensive moment to see if Maya would turn back or even say something else, -almost wishing for a moment that she would, as I had never felt such effects as her speech had had on me in my life- I chanced a bit of a yawn, not knowing how the human would take it if she saw, since despite my short bout of sleep earlier and my more recent but fairly revitalizing shower, I found my eyelids growing heavy, it becoming progressively harder to concentrate as well as I usually could.

Remembering the mattress on the floor, I looked down to it, just considering it without much actual thought to it. It _did_ look comfortable… at least a good deal more comfortable than my cot had been… and that made me wonder if I would even be _able_ to sleep on it. It wasn't like I was used to any form of comfort…

I guess I can just sleep on the floor if I don't like it… 


	12. Promises

**READ FIRST:**

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of __**ChibiXzaide**__. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

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_

Slowly, I lowered my tired body down onto the mattress, finding with shock that it didn't creak or feel harsh under me as every other sleeping surface I was used to had. In fact, it felt nearly as if I was sitting on a cloud, a warm, soft, springy _cloud_. My head lowered, my eyes studying the surface in wonder, my hand moving to poke at the blanket-covered mass under me in a fascinated manner. Wow… It was… I'd never seen a bed like this… And Maya thought this would be _inadequate_? What the hell kind of bed did _she_ have??

I was suddenly broken out of my rapt investigation by a small chuckle, and instinctively I winced down as my antennae snapped against my head unintentionally hard, squinting my eyes from the feeling as I reached up to rub them a bit to get the sting out, and making certain to look as sour as I could manage to make it clear how much I didn't appreciate being laughed at. Maya watched me from where she had stood from her chair, her arms crossed in front of her, and just shaking her head very, very slightly before she moved to go past me. My eyes followed her, even though I didn't turn my head, so she wouldn't be able to tell either way, which was the way I preferred it.

"If I'm not back in five minutes… just wait longer." She told me as she slipped out the door. Confused, I narrowed one eye at her words, not understanding them in the least, giving the closing door a long and skeptical look before I suddenly realized that she was making a joke. _Not a very good one…_ Unimpressed, I rolled my eyes at the attempt despite that she was no longer there to see it and wouldn't have been able to tell either way, huffing out a long, tired breath. Suddenly, with a shock that made my antennae snap up high into the air, I realized that the humans had left me alone in the room. Unexplainably, that news brought a good level of my completely ridiculous mood from before back to me, and I grinned to myself. _Finally…_ In a somewhat playful, somewhat relieved manner, I flopped backwards, making an involuntary little surprised and delighted squeak as the mattress sprung me back up as if I were nothing, rather than breaking or giving out on me. Man, this thing was _neat_!

With a small, pointless laugh, my antennae angled as high as possible off my head to catch the music playing through the room, I moved to wriggle under the blankets, feeling the soft, slightly fuzzy material already warming from my own body heat as soon as I had gotten under it. The heat was almost uncomfortable after all the time I'd spent in the forest, only having the tarp to keep out the wind and elements… _almost_. But it was in actuality so nearly uncomfortable that it was very comfortable, only increasing the feeling of light-heartedness that I had gotten, and on a random whim I bundled up as if I were a living cocoon in the blankets, making it so that only my eyes could be seen through small hole in the thick material, allowing me enough space to see the space in front of me. Feeling like I was an idiot, but not able to bring myself to care, I giggled almost insanely with my own joy at my position. Clean blankets! Who would have thought?

I was still delighting in the blankets when the door swung open, allowing the human girl to stride through, and I had a moment to see that in her hands she was holding a bag and something else, but she froze at seeing me, her green eyes, bright even in the slight shadow she was standing in, going wide with surprise. My muscles locked up suddenly as I realized exactly what a sight I must be making, having not thought far enough ahead to really be aware that I would look so ridiculous when the human came back in. To my shock, however, she showed no signs of becoming angry at seeing that I had ruined her carefully set up bed, instead dropping what she was holding, lurching against the wall nearest her and smacking it a few time fairly loudly. For a moment I cringed, thinking that she may be taking out her rage on the wall instead of me, but as she began giggling, one hand against her mouth to try to keep the sounds from escaping, the other beating up the wall, I began to realize how wrong I was. My antennae lowered down to my head slowly, making sure that she would be able to see my glower from under all the blankets, but instead of causing her laughter to stop, as I had sought, my expression seemed to have the opposite effect, and only ended up making her laugh harder.

_I give up…._

With a long-suffering, annoyed sigh I just settled into glaring at the edge of the mattress, listening to the human trying to smother her laughter with no success. I mean… I didn't look _that_ funny, did I? Then again… once I _thought_ of it… I found I couldn't help but smile at the image I had in my head of what she must be seeing, infinitely glad for the blankets wrapped around me for the moment, as they hid my expression. But even _that _couldn't hide my own slight laughter a moment later, which, as I soon learned… didn't help the situation.

It was a long few minutes, that was.

When Maya had finally gotten hold of herself, she turned her attention to something I had been curious about since I lost interest in her struggle, which made me look up to her with a good deal of curiosity. She picked up the bag from where she had dropped it on the floor, taking out, to my surprise, the meat and 'water' that she had bought for me at the Irken supply store… had it been just earlier today? Unintentionally, my antennae instantly perked up, and I grimaced immediately, the feeling of them hitting and sliding against the blankets over my head making a small shudder run through me. I had been used to the tarp, but the tarp was heavy and smooth, while the blankets were soft, fairly light, and had a texture that tickled in an odd way.

"Here…" she said, breaking me out of my thoughts. I shook my head suddenly, looking to her hand, as she was holding out one of the strips of food that she had bought. Instantly, I reached through the blanket, snatching the strip and bringing it back to myself in a movement so fast I was almost amazed that I even had it already. My gut had just forcefully reminded me that it both needed and wanted food at the sight of even that slight nourishment, and it was all I could do not to start snapping at her hand with my bare teeth, something I knew would likely not be very welcome despite everything else she had said or done. As it was, however, in my rush to get the delightfully fresh strip down my throat, I found that I nearly bit my own fingers at least twice, having to stop my teeth from clamping down on the digits. The strip of meat was nearly gone by the time I noticed that a 'water' bottle was being held out, too, and, feeling a bit sheepish of my actions, and more in control of my hunger now that I had something in my aching stomach, I reached through the hole in the blanket, much less feverishly, to take it.

"…Thank you…" I muttered, wondering in the back of my mind what had happened to my own declaration to myself that I would never show gratitude to a human. I supposed it was only right to say it after this… even if I was thanking a human. I mean… she hadn't _had_ to go and get food for me, or make a bed, or even let me take a shower, for that matter…

"You're welcome," she replied easily, as if it was no problem for her whatsoever. Through my small viewing space, I saw her stand up straight, as she had been kneeling to hand me the food, and through the muffle of the blankets I could hear her soft footsteps as she moved across the room, out of my line of sight. Very briefly I considered following her progress, but my gut demanded that I pay attention to the food I had left for the moment, noting that I hadn't finished it and reminding me that I very much wanted to, so without another thought to where she had gone I turned my teeth to the meat.

I had already finished everything that had been given to me by the time I heard soft, muffled footsteps again, and but a moment later she moved into my line of sight. I tilted my head very slightly, shivering again as that movement brushed my antennae against the blankets more firmly than just raising them had, confusion coming into my eyes from her appearance, as where she had previously been wearing a T-shirt and jeans, now she was wearing something different… a pastel colored nightgown and light blue, very baggy and soft looking pants… After a moment of my silent observation she turned to look at me, smiling, her green eyes squinted slightly with the expression, and I noticed dryly that she still seemed to be amused at me from the previous incident… It was odd, how long she found something funny.

"Here's your pillow," she said; tossing the large, white mass that had been the second object she had been holding when she came back into the room at me. It landed perfectly in front of me, and I stared down at it blankly, but of course it only made sense. Humans seemed to like making things like beds with all the accessories, even if they were making them for slaves. Maya had said that I wasn't a slave… something I still doubted somewhat no matter how passionately she had made her speech, but as of the moment I couldn't say this wasn't a step up from what I had known before…

Even better if I actually _was_ free…

"It's pretty late," she said with a shrug, moving over to the computer and clicking the mouse a few times, causing the soft, soothing music that had been on it to abruptly stop. There was the sound of the device shutting down as well, and against my better judgment I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed; I had never heard anything like that music in my entire life… nothing but brawling, off key songs that had been sung by the human workers when they had somehow managed to sneak a keg of alcohol onto the work site… But tiredly I shook my head a bit to clear those memories away. That was just… unpleasant to think about when I would like to get to sleep. Thankfully, the human spoke again before I could drift back to the subject more than I wanted to, "I don't usually go to bed for another hour or so, but I'm just tired today… I hope you don't mind at all. Better get comfortable, though… When it's dark in here, it gets _dark_."

I considered her words for a moment, wondering what she could mean by them, before my tired mind finally managed to grasp and then concede to what I recognized as good advice. Carefully, trying not to disturb too much, I arranged the blankets from wrapping around me like a cocoon into what I approximated to be the same way they were before I had messed them up, slipping between them and taking hold of the so that I could pillow place the surprisingly soft thing under my head. In an effort to make sure all was right, I just wriggling for a moment to get good and comfortable, silently rolling my eyes as I heard another giggle from the general direction of where I heard the human's footsteps and wondering why this human found me so amusing. An instant later, however, I was distracted as I heard more music drift through the air, much softer than before, but still noticeable. I lifted my head from the pillow in slight surprise, looking around questioningly, and finally discovering where the source was by noting a small, red light that hadn't been lit in the room before. On top of the dresser, facing towards the bed, was a very thin silver box of some sort, with speakers set up on each side. It was a radio, I realized after trying to puzzle it out for a while, and considering that Maya had just turned it on… it stood to reason that she probably kept it on all night.

That was all right with me. It would help me sleep easier.

Finally, the light clicked, and I saw that Maya was indeed right when she said that it got dark in her room as the entire area was thrown into darkness so total that I gripped the blankets under me for a second in shock. For a very long few minutes after I had heard her climb into her own bed, I could see nothing but the red light of the radio, watching it with a type of desperation to have any sort of light to stabilize that floating, chaotic feeling that the lack of light had brought on, but that, thankfully, _did_ clear as my eyes, naturally more adapted to the dark than any human's, adjusted to the conditions somewhat and blurry shapes became outlined, giving the area some form of depth. I sighed a bit in pure relief, being quiet about it so as not to let the human know I had been frightened in any way, forcing my limbs to relax as I just reveled in the clean, warm feel of the blankets. Setting my head into the feathery soft pillow and closing my eyes, I cast my mind adrift.

"Kiros?"

Huh..? My eyes opened a bit as I realized a bit dimly that Maya had just said something, though still too close to sleep to recognize it as my name.

_What do you want?_

"Muh..?" I wasn't very coherent….

"Kiros… I just needed to say… I really _do_ want to help you. I know you're not sure of it now, but I have no intention of making you a slave in this house." There was a slight pause, and I almost found my mind drifting once more before she broke the semi-silence again, "I… I want to be your friend …if that's even possible. But... I don't just want you to _say_ I'm you're friend or anything. I want to _earn_ your friendship. I… I'd like you to promise me, Kiros… I'm just going to act normal, and treat you like I think all Irkens should be treated, like the person that you are… and if, one day, you consider me a friend… I want you to call me Mouse that day, alright? But not before then. Can you promise me that?"

I blinked my eyes tiredly, having a hard time really keeping up with what she was saying, but my weary mind managed to get the general gist of it. I made a light, sleepily annoyed sigh, before I nodded, but stopped after a moment at realizing that she wouldn't be able to see it.

"I promise…" I mumbled, almost yawning again at the end there, and nearly having fallen back asleep in the middle of saying it. There was no more noise from Maya's direction, a fact that I was somewhat glad of as I closed my eyes, thinking briefly upon my own words for a moment, wondering about it…

It seemed like the right thing to say.


	13. Fate That Twines

_MUCH LUV TO MY READERS!  
WE'RE ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH NOW!  
KEEP PLUGGING FOR ME!_

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Two months flew by with a speed I had never before seen in all the long, tedious days of my old life. I had never before thought that life with a human could be anything less than backbreaking labor and constant pain, but as the days went by, one after the other, it seemed that this human, Maya Benson, was determined to prove to me that life could indeed be better than that. When I traveled the house, I was given permission to do what I liked as long as I didn't disturb Maya's parents, who, as I soon learned, were under the impression that as long as Maya was paying for all my care, anything I did was her business and they weren't going to bother themselves with it. That suited me very well, as it gave me a chance to learn more about human culture without being impeded by any sudden demands, and Maya took more and more time to teach me what I wanted to know.

When I displayed an interest in the picture of Irk on the wall, I discovered that the human girl held several books on the subject, pulling them down from the bookshelf and giving them to me to read to my heart's content. That I did, sucking down information on my planet, the histories of the war, biology of my species, and the wildlife and flora native to the world of which I came from. The knowledge fascinated me, everything about that long forgotten world appealing to every sense I had, and on several nights, while Maya worked on her computer, I would lay on my bed, which she had, several nights after she had set it up, found an old frame for from somewhere in the house and supplied me with a sleeping place that was the equal of any human's, and on that bed I would read a book.

At first, I never said much, listening to Maya's explanations of things that she was doing or her idle chatter without doing any more than looking at her when I found something odd. But as time wore on, I found myself becoming ever more interested in the discussions, the comments that I often kept to myself finding their way to my voice. Misgivings abounded from this decision to break my stubborn detachment for many days, but against my expectations life became that much more interesting, and I found myself thinking deeper on subjects that previously I had only thought of to get a definitive answer in my mind and then left as fact. With someone who would openly discuss these thoughts with me, I began finding holes in my arguments, places where something I previously thought was fact was nothing more than speculation that had never been disproved.

To her credit, I have to say Maya never gloated when she won an argument… much. Though I couldn't say that I took the victory silently when I was able to make her admit that she had been beaten, as surprisingly rare as that was. No, it was that much that I had loosened, that I could taunt a human about being wrong… though of course, only Maya I ever dared try speaking my mind with. Other humans I could never be sure that they wouldn't lash out at hearing such insubordination. So it was a tenuous comradeship we held, always having a slight fear that something would crash in to break it.

I was most interested, however, in her 'network' for the InRA. Over time, I began to understand that Maya kept her membership of the organization the closest guarded secret of her life, only getting onto the site on her own computer, and never when her parents were anywhere near, though in that I also began to understand why she liked the room that had likely been the shelter for slaves when the house had been built. It's difficulty to reach made it a very rare thing indeed for her parents to ever come close, and even then they almost never came in, preferring to knock on the door and call her out for various chores or mealtimes. All other times we were left to ourselves, and in those times Maya showed me around the site, telling me about all her contacts there.

It was intriguing, I saw from the time I spent studying the site, that all the members were named after forest animals. 'Mouse' as Maya took was just one of the many that there were. Several others besides the one called 'Salamander', including 'Fox', 'Doe', and the somewhat eccentric 'Gnat', hailed her from the site, talking with her about various missions daily. Out of these, the only contact she had ever actually met in person was 'Salamander', who was one of the only members of the organization that had been with it since close to the beginnings. I was surprised to find that the site had only been created fifteen years prior, coalescing the tattered and abysmally loosely organized human resistance into a single, larger whole that was a constant burr under the foot of their own government.

Somehow, I found myself respecting their tenacity against such a larger and much more adapt opponent. Even being so small, they still managed to confound their enemy with their quick steps and disappearing acts. No member really knew any of the other members except for the leaders, who knew every member that joined, as they checked them out themselves. It was a nearly fail-safe system, and as the leaders kept their identities absolutely secret, no one was sure if the contact they had had for years was actually a much more powerful person than they appeared to be.

It was inspiring, and I only wished that the Irken race could be so united against a common enemy.

Sunlight poured down brightly from the tiny window in the room, illuminating a small, rectangular spot on the floor. Noon was about the only time when the tree growing in front of the only window didn't block the light coming in, and it was also one of my favorite times to just sit and reflect. Idly, I picked at the sleeve of my shirt, a new one that Maya had bought for me several weeks ago, and that she had shown some forethought for, as noticing that I preferred my clothing as ragged and tatty as my originals, she'd gotten them from a store that sold such things in the same state deliberately. I found this perplexing, especially for humans to wear, but she had explained to me that human teenagers like to 'make a statement' by wearing things that were almost ready to fall apart.

I didn't see the statement.

_Unless they're going for the 'I have no money' look…._ I thought with a slight grin, finally ceasing to pick at my sleeve and moving to lie back on my bed, kicking my feet off the end. My shoes, too, had been replaced, something that I was at least glad of. The new tennis shoes had been uncomfortable at first, but after a few days of wear, they had become much less stiff and harsh, nearly forming to my feet. Maya had laughed when I told her about it, of course… I had come to understand that most of the times she laughed at something I said or did, she wasn't laughing at me, but rather 'delighting at how new I found the simple pleasures in life' as she put it.

I still suspected she was laughing at _me_.

"Heya lazy-bones! I return with food… unless you're too lethargic to eat anything?" the voice was bright and cheerful, and I turned my eyes skyward… not something particularly hard to do, seeing as I was currently facing the ceiling, replying back dryly.

"Just liquefy it and funnel it down my throat."

Suddenly, her face was in my vision, her green eyes bright with mischief as she stood over the bed. One of her delicate eyebrows rose up, and she grinned, a grin that I'd found all too unsettling since I'd first learned what unpleasant tricks it could entail. I stared back up at her blankly.

"Be careful what you wish for, Kiros, you just might get it," With a short laugh she moved to lightly smack my arm, a gesture I was now more than used to, as when I'd looked so freaked out the first time she'd done it she'd explained and apologized constantly for a good three hours straight. But of course that never stopped her from repeating what I had come to know as a friendly motion. I grunted suddenly as a cold weight dropped onto my stomach, the shock of it causing me to jerk upright, "Now eat. We've got stuff to do later." The way she said that was intentionally mysterious, I noted, though that cold thing against my gut took precedence over all else.

"Ah! What the hell?" I yelped as I reached down to take what was so cold, snatching up the 'water' bottle and feeling the chill seep though my fingers. My antennae flattened in my annoyance, and I gave a giggling Maya my most indignant look, "Hey, you put that in the fridge on purpose! And what do you mean, '_stuff_'?"

She jumped up onto her own bed without answering, just sitting cross-legged on it, grinning from 'ear to ear' as humans put it, and I figured it wasn't worth it to keep up my indignant look, as the human had an amazing ability to stay amused no matter how angrily I looked at her. Instead, I diverted my energy to the meat and fruit she had set with the water, opening the package and beginning to eat as I waited for her to stop keeping me in the dark and reply. If there was one thing the human wasn't able to do easily, it was keep me from an answer for long.

"I'm going to take you out, today!" she answered. In mid-bite, I halted from tearing off a chunk of dry but flavorful jerky, my eyes widening at the surprise of her statement. Take me out… into a _town_? I admit I had several doubts at the idea. How did I know that the humans had stopped looking for me, even now, or that my appearance, not as ragged or dirty as that of slaves, wouldn't cause the other humans to turn their attention to me? I was comfortable here, I admitted now, but outside the relative safety of this house I could never be sure of myself.

Maya caught my look, her expression changing from excited to concerned, "Hey, Kiros, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, I'll stay right by you all the time if you want me to. I just thought you needed to get out and get some fresh air… and I was hoping you'd like to go shopping with me. But if you don't that's fine… I can just save my money for something else…."

_Ugh…_

"Oh, so now you're just going to stick me with a guilt trip if I don't agree?" I asked sarcastically after I had gained the sense to rip of the bite of jerky that I had. Rolling my eyes, I was smugly satisfied to notice that even after two months of living here, Maya didn't recognize how my pupil-less eyes had moved.

"Yes, I am. So if you want to avoid a whole big mess of guilt you'd better come with me," she replied with an ease that seemed to erase all of her previous concern, turning the entire discussion into more comfortable banter. It was something we were both much more accustomed to than any type of completely serious discussion, even the topics that were serious and nature never rose above it… but if I tilted my antennae to catch her words more clearly, I could still sense the underlying concern. She wouldn't blame me if I decided not to go, which was _exactly_ what made the whole thing so frustrating. I had a choice, and if I chose to stay in the house, she would, too, effectively making me think I had ruined her day for me. But if I went, I didn't know what would happen… besides that I wouldn't be feeling guilty for being the cause of Maya staying home.

Damn that human… She knew so well how to catch me in situations that I both _had_ and _didn't_ _have_ a choice in…

In my own little form of resistance, I fell silent, just concentrating on my food and not even looking at her. Of course I knew that by my actions she would know what my decision would be… the human was observant to an unsettling degree, maybe what made it so easy for her to catch me between 'a rock and a hard place' as humans so eloquently put it. It wasn't as if I was making it hard to begin with, with how viciously I sunk my teeth into my food, ripping it off violently… mostly just for the sake of mutilating innocent food while I silently fumed over my own decision and how much it irritated me.

"Better be careful or it might just start squirming and struggling to get away," her voice broke through my carefully concentrated massacre, and I glanced up, realizing only too late that I had been trying to ignore her. She saw the way my antennae flopped down to my skull, trying to hide a smile at it, but really unable to, since I saw the expression before she could erase it. Maya was quick enough to hide from other humans, to act and put up a face around them that they in their ignorance never realized was there, but I had spent my entire life looking for tiny movements that could signal a beating about to come. Though I was inexperienced at judging expressions, I could catch a change pretty easily, something I wasn't certain if she knew or not, but something I knew worked to my advantage.

"Piss off," not exactly the nicest phrase I had in my vocabulary, but it fit the situation quite well considering that I definitely wanted to make my displeasure known. Maya only laughed it off, tilting her head in a smug way, and despite the opportunity I didn't let her start up another banter, "If I go, you'd better make _damn_ sure I'm not going to be beaten by any passing human that goes by. I've had enough of that shit to last six lifetimes, and I won't let it happen to me again without a fight, got it?"

"Of course," she nodded very seriously, a spark lighting up in her eyes that flickered dangerously at what I guessed was the idea of me getting beaten. It was an interesting reaction to behold, something that I watched with fascination, though I of course hid the expression and the fact that I was watching her, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. They have no right to try and treat you like dirt, and I won't stand for it either. When we go, we go as _equals_. I'll split the money between us so we can both get anything we feel like, okay?"

It was a long moment as I stared at her, one brow quirked up to show my skepticism, just having to let her know that she was acting unlike what I thought of as a 'human', before I finally, slowly, let my own small grin show through. I never hurt to let myself show some emotion from time to time, and really, now that I thought of it, I had never had a chance to really look at the things sold in human stores. For all I knew, it really could be fun, and there was nothing to worry about.

"Sounds fine to me."

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_DEAR **GODS** REVIEW AND KEEP ME GOING!  
I'M ONLY **ONE-THIRD** OF THE WAY THROUGH, PEOPLE!_


	14. The Eyes

_Oh yes... from this point on, let the action commence...  
Insert Traditional Disclaimer Here..._

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"I don't know _why_ you'd want it," I whispered under my breath, my eyes narrowing as I stared in something akin to unbridled disgust and terror all in the same expression. The… _thing_… that Maya was holding up was so ghastly that I was literally feeling some _fear_ of it. I had no idea what I'd do if she actually bought it, besides throw something over it to keep it out of sight…. _If I can bring myself to get so close to it_, "It's… _ugly_." I made sure to stress that word as much as possible.

"Oh, like _you_ know what's ugly or not," Maya whispered back, clutching the… _thing_… defensively to her, "_I_ think it's cute. Come on, you can't say it's not cute." As if to illustrate her point, she thrust the object towards me, and I leaned back, my eyes widening somewhat as I stared at it in nothing short of horror. It was… it was…

A fuzzy pink octopus.

"It's staring at me…" I said quietly, my eyes locked onto it. I was aware that there was no way a stuffed animal could ever actually be staring at anyone, but… there was just something sinister about this odd thing. Something so vacant in it's blank, glassy eyes that looked like they saw everything and nothing at once. I shuddered slightly, "It's creepy…"

"It is no such thing…! It's a fluffy stuffed animal, how can it be creepy?" Maya demanded, still whispering to keep the discussion from being overheard by the few other people in the store, "It's _cute_. I _like_ it. How can you say this isn't cute?"

I glanced up to her; keeping my horrified look, before taking another good, long stare at the thing in her hands. My _god_ was it ugly… all its limbs… tipped in that horrid pink _fluff_… And… the _eyes_. I looked back up to Maya, my look very serious, "Because it _isn't_ cute… It's _terrifying_. Get it _away_ from me."

"Spoilsport…" the human, catching my look and realizing exactly how much the stuffed animal bothered me, finally gave a defeated sigh and set it back on the shelf with all of it's other horrible brethren. I let out a long, long breath of relief at knowing that I wouldn't have to share a room with that hideous mass of material, "_Fine_, if you hate it so much, I won't get it. I guess I didn't need it anyway, it would mess up my room," apparently finished looking at the large display of various stuffed creatures, she glanced to her watch, "And it's getting late. We should get home before the roads start to ice over again." She let a small laugh escape her lips, looking no worse for wear about the incident with the plushie, a fact of which I was infinitely glad. Maya was never pleasant when she was denied something she truly wanted… an example being how whenever her parents called her from her room when she was up late on the Internet to do various chores, she became very moody and gruff, often sulking around for a good, long while. I supposed it was only human nature, "I think we've done enough shopping to last us a while, huh?"

"I had no idea there were so many strange and useless things to be bought," I replied promptly, though still quietly, as we threaded our way to the door of the store. We hadn't actually bought anything here, despite several discussions on various items, but at the other stores I had managed to find a few things that interested me enough to want to own them. Humans had many odd things that they made for apparently no reason other than to have them, and me, being the weird one that I was, found myself drawn to them. I already owned an object known as a 'Koosh ball', perhaps the most pointless out of all of the items I'd bought, but yet still the most intriguing somehow.

So lost in my thoughts on what I'd bought during the day, I made a short cry of surprise when a hand roughly gripped my shoulder, pulling me back from the doorway that I was walking towards. My antennae snapped down against my head, anger bubbling within me at the gesture, but before I could snap out at the perpetrator I found my voice dying in my throat, my eyes widening as I realized something almost subconsciously that prevented me from acting on my already fading anger. With a hesitant twitch, the tiny muscles along my scalp moved, lifting my feather-light antennae up, the scythe ends tilting to catch the faint sound through the annoyingly loud din of the store.

_Pitter-patter…._ The rain hit the roof and the sidewalk beyond the awning of the store, creating a constant, steady rhythm of noise. Outside, what had previously been a bright, nearly cloudless day had changed within nothing more than an hour, becoming a powerfully overcast, heavy storm. Only now that I saw the danger that I had so narrowly avoided did I feel the grip on my shoulder loosen, finally disappearing altogether, and still in some measure of shock, I turned my head, meeting Maya's eyes. She smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Sorry… I didn't-"

"Thanks," I cut her off before she could apologize any more than she already had. She didn't need to apologize for keeping me from danger… Though in an instant I realized with some level of horror that I had kept my slightly angered look, and with that thought it was wiped away, even despite knowing that the damage had already been done, "Thank you…"

She shrugged, not saying any more on the subject and moving to open the door, carefully going out a ways, and then looking back to me, acting as if nothing had ever happened. I narrowed my eyes very slightly at her behavior. She had every right to be angry, every right to be upset that I'd looked at her like that after she'd only been trying to keep me from pain. But she never showed for an instant that she'd been affected by it. The thought came into my mind that she might be acting with me as smoothly as she acted with the other humans.

I don't know why that thought unsettled me so much

"It's dry enough out here," she said, turning her head back to me, but now that I was looking more closely I noticed that her eyes never met mine, never showed any of that previous spark, replacing it with a slightly glazed, distant look. Inwardly, I could feel my own scorn at my actions begin to bubble up as hotly as the anger had from just a moment before, "You can wait under the awning while I get your tarp out from the car… It shouldn't take more than a minute, alright?"

_Stupid, _stupid_ Kiros_, I railed at myself silently as I walked out the door and under the menial shelter of the awning, feeling the cold, biting wind strike my form, laden heavily with the humidity of the air and making just standing there very uncomfortable. Maya, to her credit, didn't press me for an answer, just hurrying off to do as she said she would. For a moment, I felt like I should just follow her, and let my body be burned. It would be fitting, for acting like such an ass, and the car actually wasn't all that far away… just around the corner, in fact. _Just can't let it go, can you? Can't let any unexpected action be met with anything but anger?_ Think _before you just fly off at someone, man! Otherwise you're no better than _them_, than the_ humans

So absorbed was I in my mental lashing that it was a long moment before I heard footsteps on the sidewalk. Figuring it was just Maya, I didn't look up for a moment, feeling far too guilty to want to look her in the eyes, but as one set of footsteps stopped, I suddenly realized that others were still continuing. My eyes widened as a small, ice-cold thrill of fear shot up and down my spine, my limbs stiffening as I trembled lightly. The others, I could hear, had stopped around me, forming a loose circle that afforded me no avenues of escape. From the heavy sounds I could tell instantly that they were larger humans, probably male, and not likely to be friendly.

_Crap…_

"Hey there, little cock-sucker," the deceptively sweet voice was laced with derisive amusement, the cruel kind that sent a wave of nausea at me as I remembered that it was the same tone that my former master had used with us when planning some form of hideous humiliation, "What are you doing out here all alone in the shadows, hm? Afraid to go out and get your precious green skin wet?"

I didn't answer, continuing to stare hard at the cement in front of me. I wouldn't get into this… I _couldn't_ get into this. There were four of them, all much bigger and probably stronger than I was. Common sense told me that getting into a fight with them would only end in death or serious injury for me, especially since this time, I didn't have a weapon nor the element of surprise on my hands. So I held still as stone, almost trying to sink into the wall behind my back, hoping they would just go away but knowing with cold certainty that they wouldn't.

Pain flared in my entire body as I was slammed with crushing force and speed into the brick wall behind me. A sharp yelp tore through my throat; straining my vocal cords and making my lungs ache with how the air had been expelled from them. I looked up slightly, writhing a bit at the pain and the fact that my feet weren't touching the concrete anymore, feeling my tentatively healed shoulder send sharp jabs of agony through me, reminding me that the old wound wouldn't be forgotten.

"Answer me when I talk to you, you stinking Irken! You afraid to get _wet_?"

The others… my antennae were rubbing roughly against the brick, and it hurt and muddled my hearing… but they were _laughing_. Laughing at how the human that was pinning me to the wall was tormenting me. Taking delight in my pained sounds and how I was trying to get his grip off from me.

_Don't laugh at me!_

I couldn't keep the fury from my expression as I stopped struggling, staring the human in the eyes with all the defiance I could muster.

_I won't let them win…_

"Oh, lookie here…" one of the other males… they all looked to be in their teens, but very dangerous. I didn't doubt that they all carried some sort of weapon on their person, "This one's feisty!"

The others all laughed harder, only adding to my anger. This was why I hadn't wanted to go out into the town… these humans didn't care about Irkens at all. In fact hated them. And if they decided to make my day miserable and painful, there would be no one willing to make the effort to stop them.

"Well, then… Do you know what we do to little Irkens that get out of line, cock-sucker?" he leaned in close, and I could feel his breath, disgusting, smelling of old beer and smoke, wash over me, and I made a face as he answered his own question, "We put them back in it."

I kept my disgusted look, still radiating as much anger and defiance as I could muster, which was a considerable amount, considering that I stared at _those_ deplorable dregs of human culture. They reminded me all too much of my master, and what he'd been like.

_I wish I had a baseball bat…

* * *

_

Don't we all...


	15. The Definition of Pathetic

_I think my One-a-day Chapters is going to have to shift to one-every-two-days. Not for lack of story right now, no, but lack of new writing happening XD Been a busy, busy week for me, and busy means my writing suffers... not to mention I'll have evryone bothering me over the weekend and probably won't get any actual writing done until Tuesday... which, hey! Happens to be my birthday! Wooooow, yaaay! Okay, crap, I probably won't actually write again untilthe middle of the weekXD  
Thus is the reason why I need time!  
I wish I could have the house to myself for a day... just to write...  
Oh well! Thank you SO much for the reviews, people. It's good to know I have a few steady readers out there, and for those who don't review but read anyway... thank you too! I'm one of those shadow people far more often than not XP  
Read the exciting stuff... READ I SAY!_

* * *

"My _name_ is Prince Kiros," I rasped though hurting lungs. If I was going to avoid death here, I might as well try to buy a little time for myself until Maya could come back. And if not, I would at least die knowing that I'd resisted like the Prince I should have been all my life.

_But I don't want her to come back to _this, I suddenly realized as the peril of my situation loomed over me with more urgency than before. These humans were dangerous and in a group; they looked like they were used to getting away with these types of acts. One human female wasn't going to be able to stop them if they really wanted to hurt me, and she'd be hurt in the process. I didn't think an act would fool these creatures…

The 'leader' looked to the others, a dangerously slow grin spreading across his face, "Did you hear that, boys? We're in the presence of _royalty_." He stressed that word, squeezing out as much scorn, disgust, and sweetened aloofness as he possibly could in his tone. With a shrill, agonized cry, my entire body erupted into pain again as he took me away from the wall and slammed me back into it as hard as he could. There was a good deal of hurt flaring in the left center of my back, and distantly I wondered if one of my ribs had been broken. I wouldn't have surprised me, "Well hear this, _Prince_! We don't give a rat's ass! You're _nothing_; you got that? An _Irken_! _Less_ than scum, you give scum a bad name! And you're going to _hurt_ for looking at a human that way."

"Fuck off," I gasped, still glaring at him, though my expression was considerably weakened because of the pain. God, it hurt to _breathe_… I'd hoped I'd left this kind of pain behind me after I'd escaped, but it seemed that no matter what I did the humans wanted to hurt me, hurt us. Like animals that diverged only slightly from the line humans set for them, we were spurred and lashed back into the masses.

_Only an animal…_

The next few moments were nothing but chaos.

Agony, white-hot and familiar, coursed through my veins, the pain in my back and shoulder engulfing my entire body and making it impossible for me to concentrate on anything else. My antennae pressed against my head, my vision swimming, and in an attempt to block it out I closed my eyes, struggling to not breathe hard like I wanted to, every movement of my chest sending another stab into me. I felt something cold on my hands, cold and gritty and burning, and with a quick movement I pulled my arms back to myself, forcing myself to sit up. It was only then that I realized I was on the ground, the crushing grip that had held me not a moment before gone.

Dazedly, I looked around, my vision still blurry with the way my eyes were watering, and my damaged antennae caught the sound of a struggle, a scuffle of feet and short, angry grunts punctuated by louder cries. There was a babble of voices behind this, and I blinked a few times quickly to try and clear my vision, wanting to know what was happening.

I almost wished I hadn't.

The 'leader' of the gang that had pinned me against the wall was struggling, twirling around and growling obscenities as he thrashed, trying to get something large from his back. It took me a long moment to realize in the confusion that the large 'thing' clinging so determinedly to his back was actually a person, and not only a person…

…but _Maya_.

I froze in sudden terror, my pain momentarily forgotten in the confusing mix of amazement, relief, anger, adrenaline, and worry. The human girl was taking on the leader of the gang, her arms locked in a death grip around his neck, cutting off his air, while her legs were wrapped around his waist. She held the tarp in one hand, the flashing color of it swirling as the gang leader whirled in an effort loosen Maya's grip. The other gang members were either making attempts to get close to pry the girl off, or laughing at the sight, and I was again disgusted at seeing how sadistic these humans really were. Who could _possibly_ take _amusement_ in that?

Suddenly, the gang leader, in desperation at his lack of air, as his face was beginning to turn slightly blue in tone, staggered over to the wall, slamming his back against it as hard as he could. I winced, my antennae snapping to my head in horror as there was a sudden pained scream that ripped through the air like a tangible thing. Maya's grip loosened very suddenly as all her muscles seemed to go limp, and she slumped to the hard ground in heavy shock, the look on her face one of both fury and pained guilt. My eyes passed over her in blank amazement, wondering why she had put herself in so much danger when there was no chance that she could win, but my amazement faded to a good deal of respect as, instead of staying down, she forced herself forward and on her feet, making a little, choked cry as the movement was obviously painful, but her eyes too angry to show any sign of sense despite how visibly shaky she was. I began to feel a growing sense of panic as I realized that she intended to keep fighting. Maya _wasn't_ a fighter; she could never hope to do anything!

The gang leader coughed hard, leaning on his knees as he tried to regain his breath, and turning my eyes to him I couldn't keep the smirk from forming on my face at seeing that he had finally gotten a bit of pain in return for all that he'd caused. However, as he rose from his doubled over position, I could suddenly see the dark glint of revenge in his eyes, the type that was almost insane with the need to prove his superiority, and one that I had seen many, many times before while working for my master. The dangerous glare was only fueled by the lingering laughter of his comrades, and as I looked on with an all consuming horror the human knelt down to pull a long, thin blade from a sheath around his ankle, glaring not at me, but at the unsteady human girl not a few feet beside me.

"You… _bitch_…" he growled, breathing hard with a disturbingly crazy grin on his face. Now the other humans were uneasy, looking around as if afraid of getting caught, all too aware that they were in front of a store, but unluckily no one was coming out or going in. The storm had apparently made all but either the late humans or the ones looking for trouble seek shelter, "Goddamn… _Irken-lover_… What, is this little faggot… your _boyfriend_ or something…? Sick… _traitor_…."

"Asshole," Maya hissed back though her teeth, her face twisted into an angry grimace and nearly doubled over herself, one arm wrapped around the area that had gained the brunt of the blow against the wall. I couldn't tell if she had even realized that the knife was pointed at her, but I could see that the gang had no intention of making this a fair fight. The other three were already pulling out various weapons, emboldened now that the coast seemed clear, "Tormenting someone who never _did_ anything to you...! I should kick your ass…."

Even I could see that she was in no condition to be kicking _anyone's_ ass, and the gang leader just laughed. Rather painfully, but he didn't let that stop him, wanting to have that ability to show his scorn of her, "Kick _my_ ass? Hey, Princess, you couldn't kick the _ground_…" with a cocky grin, he lifted the knife, quickly licking the blade of it, the metal glinting in the dark. Maya's eyes were locked on him, and I could see now that she'd noticed the blade, her own stance a little uneasy now as she refused to take her attention off it. The situation wasn't favoring us, and we all knew it, especially the leader of the human pack. His voice was fevered, anticipating whatever unpleasant deeds he had in mind for us, "I'm gonna enjoy hearing you _scream_, Irken-lover."

"Mouse, DUCK!" the hoarse shout had escaped my throat at the same instant I thought it, my eyes going wide as my attention was suddenly diverted to the lackey that had sidled up near Maya, prepared to lunge at her. Before my helpless eyes, I saw the sudden shock written on her face, the amazement that showed through despite the situation we were in, before without even trying to look for what she had been warned about she nearly threw herself down into the concrete, her hands hitting the pavement hard, and the lackey that was trying to grab her suddenly found himself tripping over her. He made a cry, falling forward to slam his head with an audible cracking sound into the pavement right in front of me. I scooted backwards before I could think better of it, cringing as my wounds reminded me vehemently that they still existed and forcing a whimper though my aching lungs.

I didn't think he was going to get up anytime soon, though.

But, looking back to Maya, I could see that that movement had hurt her too, especially from her expression as she shrugged off the unconscious male's legs, struggling to stand back up again. Though I had barely an instant to look worried for her, as in a moment I was reminded viciously that I was not forgotten by a powerfully destructive kick to my gut, suddenly remembering that my breathing really _hadn't_ been all that painful before as I found that I could no longer sit up, collapsing to the side as my muscles went weak. Even the burning sensation of the wet pavement couldn't drive me to sit back up, not when I was still gasping, tears leaking out of my eyes.

But I couldn't just let Maya face them alone…

Another kick hit me, and all thoughts were driven away as I let out a scream of pain with what air I had managed to get back, feeling what now definitely _was_ a broken rib shift and crack beneath my skin. God, it hurt… it hurt so much. I could barely see, wasn't even sure if my eyes were open. But after a moment of trying desperately to brace myself for another blow, I heard a muffled grunt, felt the presence that had been causing me pain suddenly vanish from the air above me. Weakly, I tried to blink my vision clear, having to see. _Needing_ to see. Because if either of us didn't live through this… I wanted to know how it ended, at least to give myself _that_ level of peace…

There was a brief, feminine scream of anger that pierced my mind, breaking through the haze for an instant, and I tried desperately to get my lagging muscles to respond, making labored little gasps as my air-depraved, pain-wracked body attempted to suck in enough oxygen to clear the fog over my mind. It seemed to work for a moment, at least, my vision clearing somewhat as I managed to lift my head from the burning sidewalk and look at the scene unfolding.

Anger… so much anger…

The gang members still standing had managed to pin the human girl… Maya… my _friend_… to the wall, one forcibly holding her head against the brick with what was obviously painful force, clamping her jaw shut in the same moment and exposing her neck, The 'leader' held the blade there, grinning with sadistic glee as he was obviously taunting her, sliding the edge back and forth across her neck, but never putting enough pressure to actually break the skin. The last gang member was helping the other pin her down, holding her legs to keep her from kicking, and I could see, very vaguely, a patch of thick red running down half of his face. When he had received that would was a mystery… I suspected he had been the one kicking me…

_Those fucking_ bastards…

"Mouse…!" I called, very weakly but still audible.

"Don't worry, little worm… don't worry… we'll get to you in a moment…" the leader was laughing his words, lording his power over Maya, delighting in the fact that she couldn't answer him. Already I could see that she was fading somewhat, her green eyes darkening as the spark in them slowly died. She knew that she couldn't do anything, and any fight in her was disappearing into despair. But at least she seemed to hear my call, her squinted eyes blinking, before she looked absolutely furious, the spark returning to her eyes tenfold, taking advantage of the gang leader's momentary distraction to yank one of her feet out of the other's grip, and then sending her knee up directly into the already bleeding gang member's face with a crunch that even I could hear. The human released her other leg and reeled back, clutching at his face and howling, blood gushing from what appeared to be a broken nose. I doubted he would be able to bring himself to fight any more.

"_Bitch_!" she was slammed into the wall even harder this time, and I heard a muffled whimper. There was just no way we were getting out of this… two were down, but there were still two with weapons. I was _useless_… I would have to watch my only friend die…

I felt like the anger would become a tangible thing, halfway wishing it _would _so I could do something besides lay there like I was. No matter how much I wanted to help, I was too weak… too beaten and frail to do any more than _try_ to writhe.

I was pathetic…

_Slap… slap… slap…_

_What's that sound…?

* * *

_

Ooooh, now what could THAT be...  
And c'mon... you can't **seriously **expect Kiros to kick some major ass when he's so outnumbered and untrained, can you?  
...okay, yes, I know you can, but hey! I **like** beating characters up for some reason... it gives them a good sense of realism! (which is just my excuse to hurt the main character...) Hehe!


	16. Fire Spirit

_Finally, I know. Sorry that I've been busy and unable to update... but I knew that I **had** to update on my birthday, so I have:P  
The cliffhanger is finally resolved!_

* * *

Another form slowly slid into view, looming darkly in my vision as it walked past me, it's feet slapping on the wet sidewalk so quietly that I was amazed I had even heard it. Its pace was quick, with silent, determined purpose, heading directly for the conflict that I wanted to desperately to be able to stop. It was as if all my wishes had been indirectly granted, as before my eyes I saw a hand shoot out of the figure's long trenchcoat with surprising speed, grabbing that of the gang leader's before he even had time to know that there was someone behind him. The leader cursed at this, but reacted instantly, trying to swing his other hand around to catch the mysterious figure with a powerful, white-knuckled punch, but he was already too late, his movement allowing the taller being to swing him around the other way, forcefully twisting both his arms behind his back at odd angles and jerking hard, a series of loud, crackling pops drifting through the moisture-laden air. The knife clattered to the ground from numb fingers as the gang leader gave a tortured cry of agony, writhing in an attempt to get away, but before he could even finish his cry he was cut off, finding his face slammed crushingly into the brick wall.

The taller creature dropped him, letting him flop like a limp rag to the ground. I could see how the blood from the unconscious -or at least he seemed unconscious- male was pooling around him, weaving it's way through the tiny stones in the gritty cement. There was no way he was going to get up any time soon, and perhaps not ever. But the conflict wasn't over yet, and looking over to Maya, I could see that the figure had turned its attention to the other gang member, who, sensing the danger of being alone against someone who was obviously more skilled, pulled Maya from the wall, holding her before him like a shield and tightening the grip of his fingers on her neck. She gagged involuntarily, the pressure on her windpipe obviously choking her, and instantly I growled, the anger allowing my mind to clear and my body recover just enough to allow me to get my arms under me, pushing off painfully from the cement to try and force myself into a sitting position as I wished fervently that the last lackey would get just as horrible a fate as the others.

I wasn't disappointed.

Maya, one arm free now that she only had one person trying to hold her down, swung back with her elbow as hard as she could manage in her weakened state, catching the other human right in the ribs, and at the same moment she pushed backwards. The human male obviously wasn't expecting any sort of resistance, losing his balance and falling, his grip being shaken loose at the impact with the ground. Having had the body of the gang member to break her fall, Maya wasn't stunned, struggling away from him and to my delight managing to kick him quite a few times. Hey, he _deserved _it, and no one can blame me for wanting to see someone like that hurt just a little! But the mysterious figure, instead of pausing or acknowledging that the human male was down, kept advancing, taking the human by the neck and lifting him up in a manner that was nearly casual, dragging the struggling form over to the wall and forcefully throwing him forward, giving him the exact same fate as the others.

The danger was over… I _hoped_.

At that last cracking sound, I felt as if a great weight had lifted from me, leaving me feeling light and… empty. My limbs suddenly felt as if they were too heavy to move, the pain in my body increasing tenfold and forcing a groan out of me. Everything hurt, and I just wanted to go back to the house and crawl into the bed and stay there for days without moving. I closed my eyes, holding them there for a long moment, but knowing that it wasn't safe here, I forced myself to lift the heavy lids once more, drifting my gaze to try and catch sight of my friend. I found her quickly, kneeling and breathing hard, her head down and her hands gripping the sidewalk under her. In a moment I understood that she was gathering herself, trying to calm down enough to stand, and I felt something within me sink at not being able to help her up, knowing that I was barely strong enough to sit up, much less stand on my own.

As Maya struggled to pull herself up from the cement, the mysterious figure, which had been looking on silently, knelt down to her, offering a gloved hand, which the girl took with muted gratitude. She didn't even lift her eyes to look at him, her legs moving painfully as she limped slowly over to where I was lying with my back up against the wall. I looked up at her gratefully, shakily taking her hand when she offered it and wincing at my tender, burnt palms, but nothing could stop that joyful feeling of just being alive against all odds. I could see the same dull joy in her eyes when I looked at her, and, consciously trying to be a little optimistic for the sake of staving off depression, I managed to grimace in a way that looked vaguely like a smile. It wasn't my best, but considering the situation, it was all I could do. Maya returned the look after a moment, before moving to loop my arm around her shoulders, using her other hand to try to steady me, but stopping as I winced and tensed when she came close to pressing her hand against the screaming pain of my broken rib. Instead, she moved to wrap her steadying arm just below my shoulders, and I took a tentative, faltering step forward to test our 'arrangement' finding that I was able to walk a bit. I wouldn't be a permanent solution, but it at least would get me to the car.

"Thanks… Mouse…" I said quietly, my voice hitching with the agony throbbing in my gut.

"Thank _you_… Prince Kiros…" she replied, trying to smile a little wider.

"Oi, sorry ta interrupt there, shela, but we'd better ska'doodle outta here," one of my antennae shot up at the voice, slightly deep, but with a quality that spoke of a different land. It was perplexing to me, and I turned my gaze to search out the person who had spoken, finding no one but the mysterious figure that had come to our 'rescue' I supposed. Now that he wasn't turned away from me and moving so quickly, and now that I wasn't distracted by the panic of our situation, I could see that it was a human male, likely somewhere around twenty to twenty-five, as humans judged their age, and very lanky behind the long red trenchcoat. On his angular head, he wore a thick cap of material, what humans called a 'beanie', but as I watched he took it off, revealing a mess of short, spiky, fire red hair. His eyes, a stark contrast to his hair, shone a blindingly ice blue, concern flitting in their depths. It was a concern that I was surprised to find extended not only for Maya, but to me as well, as he looked to the both of us and wrung the waterlogged beanie slightly in his gloved hands.

Maya suddenly tensed beside me, her head snapping up at the voice, and in an instant I saw something in her eyes that I couldn't place as anything other than shocked recognition. It made me uneasy, and I watched her with a troubled look as not only did I see that she recognized this other human, but she was happy to see him. The expression put a nagging bug into my mind, whispering to me, telling me that something wasn't right here. When I finally looked to the man again, I made certain to narrow my eyes, not trusting him and wanting him to know very clearly of my suspicion. But my expression was wiped away into shock at the next word, uttered in a breath by Maya, her green eyes reflecting blank amazement.

"_Salamander_?"

* * *

_Bet ya didn't see THAT one comin'!_


	17. Realizations

_It. Has Been. For. Ev. Er._

_I bet you all thought I was gone? C'mon, admit it! Nah, I just wanted to get the story to 70 pages in my word program before I updated again…. And…. kinda hit a snag at page 68 so I waited a year to start writing again._

_Good excuse? No… but this had been an in-progress fic for two years, anyhow._

_If I still have reviews after this long I'll be amazed and overjoyed. XD_

_THOSE THAT REMEMBER THIS ROCK_

_Extra long chappy for the masses_

* * *

"Was 'oping you'd recognize me, mate!" My surprise was short-lived as the human male strode forward to stand before us, sweeping low in a bow that caused his long red trenchcoat to sweep elegantly in the low wind. It was an overdone gesture, and I rolled my eyes as annoyance flared in the back of my mind, the muscles in my scalp pulling my antennae down further and quivering them to show my feelings. It felt like he was showing off his agility, showing off how he had taken down several other human males single-handedly without even breaking a sweat. I hated it. He already repelled me with just his presence, but after spending so much time with the human girl, Maya, I knew with burning certainty that she would want to linger and talk with the male if only for the fact that he was a contact and fellow member of the InRA.

Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for how he had saved us, but it was still uncomfortable standing out in the humidity, and I wanted nothing more than to get home.

_Right…_

"Salamander… I haven't seen you in…" her voice sounded breathless with her surprise and delight, and I could feel her form trembling somewhat against me from how close we were forced to be to keep each other standing. It was probably just the adrenaline wearing off to cause such movement, but I wondered briefly if she would have moved to hug the other human if she hadn't had to keep me upright. The thought was less than appealing, but in the back of my mind smugness was growing as I realized that having to keep me standing was preventing her from doing so if that's what she had had in mind.

"I'd say three years, mate," he answered, his exotic accent clear as he used a way of words that I was unfamiliar with. His arms rose up, pulling the trench coat around him more tightly as he looked around the area a bit, checking to make sure it was just as deserted as it had been a while ago, "But I was being serious about the ska'doodle. We 'ave to get out 'o 'ere fast before the cops get wind 'o this…. They 'ave a tendency to come at the worst times."

"But Kiros can barely stand," Maya spoke before the red-haired human could start walking, her tone laced with concern. One of my antennae pricked up just slightly at her words, my gaze turning to her curiously for a moment, and I felt a confusing mix of both relief and irritation. I hated being the one to keep her in danger; if it hadn't been for me she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. I frowned bitterly; thinking on how this entire ordeal could have been avoided if I had just went with my instincts and not went out shopping, "It's raining, too… We have to get the tarp. But I'm worried about him… I think he might have a broken rib…"

"I'm fine," I said defensively, my antennae returning to its previous position as both lowered almost flat, "I just want to get back to the house…." Pain made my voice hoarse and shaky, hitching at every word that I said that caused me to breath unnecessarily deeply. It came to mind that there was no way I was going to fool either of these humans into thinking I was in anything but bad shape, but I truly just wanted to get back to my bed and sleep. To get away from that throbbing, sharp pain for just a few hours at least while my body healed.

"You got any med supplies at your house, mate?" Salamander had stopped to consider Maya's words, looking at me with his blue eyes. I looked back with as much tired hostility as I could muster, not wanting to stand around and talk with him any longer than I absolutely had to. Just his voice irked me to no end.

_Shut up! Just shut up and leave already! _

"No, not really… a few bandages and some ointments. Why?" Despite my unwillingness to speak my mind, no matter how much I wanted to, Maya answered for me, ignoring my distrust as she so often ignored my bad moods. I felt a bit of resentment swell up to add to my annoyance. Didn't she see that I didn't trust this human? Her ignoring me felt like she was saying that she preferred this human over me, and I nearly growled, keeping it back at the last second. I'd already caused enough trouble in the last few moments…

"Well, if he 'as a broken rib, it's best to 'ave some proper care. I 'ave a med wing in my house… It's not too far from 'ere. You can follow my truck and I can get you both fixed up before you go home," he wrung the beanie in his hands again, something that I was beginning to recognize as an unconsciously nervous movement. If I could have managed it, I would have smirked at his discomfort, but as it was I couldn't even muster the effort, "It's the least I can do for not being faster…"

"Oh, 'Mander, it's alright… You did more than enough. We would have died without your help…" I closed my eyes with a quiet groan, gritting my teeth, and luckily both humans seemed to take that as a gesture of the pain I was in. Maya cut off for a moment, and I could barely hear the faint, waterlogged slapping of her mousy hair against her shoulders as she turned her head. I could just imagine her eyes on me, concerned, completely innocent. It was doubtful that she'd even noticed my distrust, or taken it as a result of the attack and dismissed it just as she had my distrust of her after the incident so long ago...

That didn't help to make me feel any better.

"I'll 'elp you two get to your car, then. My truck is just around the corner, after I get you there I'll drive back to you and you can follow me to my house" Salamander didn't waste any time for an answer, as I could hear his footsteps slapping against the wet cement, the rustle of the tarp as he picked it up. I didn't want to open my eyes, no longer caring about seeing what was around me. I just wanted to focus on myself… maybe if I did so long enough I could just block everything out, block this entire situation from my head and perhaps just drift back to sometime when nothing like this was happening. That would be for the best…

Not even when I felt the cold, harsh surface of the tarp slide over my antennae did I open my eyes. I refused to even move, just standing there silently, not taking the edge of it so it just began to slide off of me, anyway. Though in a moment, I felt Maya shift, reaching over to take the end of the tarp and using one hand to wrap it around the both of us. It was just a dream… it had to be just a dream.

Why couldn't _this_ be the dream?

"Prince Kiros…" her voice was so quiet that I almost didn't catch it in the sound of the rain on the awning above and the tarp rubbing against my antennae, sparking dormant memories of bitter cold and endless wandering in me. Slowly, I tilted them, letting the scythe-like ends angle to catch the voice more clearly through the muffle. My brow creased slightly in my concentration, somewhere in my haze not wanting to miss this, thinking that it was important somehow, "Prince… Come on… Come back." There was a pause, a slight tug that I felt sharply as the ache in my body increased, "…you know better than to try and block things out like that, Kiros… I know you're stronger than that."

Stronger? If I were _stronger_ than _I _would have been the one to beat those humans to a pulp…

"Who said I was blocking things out?" I rasped harshly as everything snapped back into focus against my will, slitting one eye open and glaring at her through the ruby red depths. She always did things like that… _Why'd she have to remind me-? Agh…_ I regretted my words an instant later as I saw her almost flinch, but my momentum was already taking me far beyond what I could control, words slipping out with no thought taken to them whatsoever, "Who said _anything_, for that matter? Stop calling me Prince, human. I'm not _your_ Prince… not anyone's _Prince_. I just want to get fucking back to my goddamn bed." I could feel the resentment rising, adding to the annoyance and turning me into a seething cauldron of mixing emotions, too worn to keep from overflowing, "But fine… _talk_ to the Salamander human, follow him _home_..! It's not as if _I_ care..!"

"Kiros…" Hurt, confusion, _fear_… hearing all of it in that one word only made me feel even worse than I already was, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't force my voice out again, as if my vocals had decided to rebel against me at the worst possible moment. It would have been so simple to apologize, to write it off as stress from the attack, but… I just couldn't. I couldn't lie and write off all of my annoyance as that, no matter if it played a pretty large part or not, "Kiros, I'm... I'm _sorry_; I thought you'd need help… I _know_ Salamander, that's the only reason why I'd even think of it…" she shook her head, "I didn't _think_… I never meant to make you feel like you didn't have a say in it…"

"Car."

It was the only thing I was willing to, or very well could, force past the lump in my throat at the moment. All too aware of the red-haired human standing uncomfortably just a few paces away, I deliberately avoided looking at either of them in favor of concentrating on the task at hand. Without waiting for an answer or even giving any sign that I was going to, I moved to drag my unnaturally heavy, sluggish feet forward, stumbling as I gave a short, involuntary cry when the movement caused burning, agonizing pain to shoot up and down my broken body. Through my own sounds I could distantly hear Maya's gasp as she quickly kept pace with me, her grip around my shoulders tightening, causing a duller pain to flare behind the more consuming one. It was too late to stop my heavy breathing, but I cut my breaths short to try and avoid the pain of the jarred rib, all my anger vanishing as I began to panic. This _hurt_… this hurt _too much_! I couldn't breathe… It hurt…

"Kiros!"

Desperate to try and get my weight off my feet to lessen the pain, I leaned into Maya heavily, not wanting to stop moving for fear that I'd either not have the will to start again or that I might somehow loosen her grip and lose the one support I had. If _walking_ hurt this much, I didn't want to find out how much _falling_ would. I could feel the human's grip adjust, her hand moving against my side to find somewhere where it wasn't as bruised to use to keep me steady. The pain slowly loosened its hold on me as she did so, and carefully I let myself breathe a bit easier. Now I could again hear the steady pattering of rain on the tarp covering me instead of the blood pounding in my antennae, feel the burning wetness of the atmosphere as the moisture-laden air blew in through the hole in the tarp that allowed me to see instead of being halfway numb to all sensation.

It was bliss…

We were moving in a lurching manner, but we were at least moving, and that was better and more productive than standing in one spot thinking about it. I concentrated on the sidewalk, watching it as I gasped for breath, focusing my attention on the tiny explosions of water on the ground as the rain hit. It reminded me of the rain on the windshield, the day I'd driven my truck into the deer… the same day I'd killed my master. I remembered how the deer had looked the moment before I'd hit it, remembered as if I was right there, watching it all over again. It had bounded out, it's fur slick with the cold rain and it's ears dripping water as it had turned its head to me.

The sickening crunch of metal meeting flesh…

_Ew…_

The car was right in front of me. I don't know how we'd gotten to it so quickly, as I didn't remember the walk. But it was there, and I felt as if I could collapse with the relief that knowledge spread over me. Someone opened the door, and distantly I could feel myself wondering if it had been Maya or Salamander to do so, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to really care, just allowing myself to be helped onto the dry, comfortable seats. I didn't bother to take off the tarp, and any water still clinging to it's surface was transferred to the material of the seat as I sat down, a hiss escaping my ragged throat at the renewed pain from the different movement. But at least my weight was off my feet for the moment; at least I could sit motionless and allow the agony to fade into the background as much as possible. My breathing was shallow out of necessity, and as I closed my eyes for a moment, I found I could think somewhat straight again.

That… had been one of the scariest moments of my life…

I think it had been because the pain was so sudden, and so great. I wasn't sure what had made it so intense, be it the lack of adrenaline in my system or perhaps the fact that I had more of my mind free to concentrate on it instead of on imminent and life-threatening danger. It made sense in a way, as when we had been attacked I knew I remembered the pain, but the need to watch my surroundings had taken precedence over any feeling, over even my own thoughts, until the point at which I couldn't move anymore. Even when I had been kicked, and my rib had broken… my attention had been forced elsewhere before I could let it fully register in my mind. And when I was still after Maya had helped me to my feet, it became one of many throbbing pains. But when I had moved to walk, that was when I was forced to suddenly realize _exactly_ how many muscles connected to that area of my body.

_Fucking muscles…_

Maybe Maya had been right to take me somewhere that could help… I knew with that same, sickening certainty that I'd always had that a human hospital would never care, and any other slave master would just kill me and be done with it. Irkens weren't worth the money to patch them up, according to most humans, and any specialty doctor cost much more than most could afford. Not to mention that, unlike most animals, Irkens weren't 'insured', so when we 'broke' there was no way to get any money back.

_Cruel world… Should blow 'em up… Wish I could… Can't… some like Mouse… Even Salamander… show-off… _

But if Maya had been right, that meant that I'd been nothing but an asshole to the extreme. Thinking on it, it wasn't as if that was in any way _rare_ for me, but I wished desperately that I'd never spoken up… She'd only been trying to help me. Why was I so opposed to help, anyway? I wasn't as if I wouldn't have figuratively killed for it back when I had worked at the warehouses; I would have walked out in a downpour just to find one person, Irken or human, who gave the slightest shit if I lived or died. But now that I'd _found_ one, I couldn't just accept it. I _had _to test it; I had to push her to her limits of tolerance and beyond to see if she really was telling the truth. And if she ever slipped up, even once, even just snapped at me; well, she was just a _human_ then. She was a human, and she'd never change. She was like the rest of her race…

_How could I be such a _hypocrite

Why had I never seen what I'd been doing _earlier_? I hated the humans because they treated the Irkens like nothing but animals, but I'd never thought to wonder if maybe I was treating _them _the same way. I was an Irken, they were Human, we would always be different, that was impossible to prevent, but _dammit _we were similar enough in _mind_! Irkens had cruel individuals _and _nice ones, the same as the humans. Irkens had weaknesses and strength. And if there was one thing I knew, it was that no member of _either_ species could have infinite patience.

But I had to hand it to her; Maya came damn close.

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, my pained breathing steady enough to allow me to talk, if a bit breathlessly. I was glad I was used to working through lingering pain, even if I'd rather I didn't have to be. Pricking both antennae up, I concentrated on listening for the girl's reply, giving myself something to ease my troubled thoughts for the moment.

"About what?" even though I couldn't see her with the tarp obstructing my vision, I could picture her as she drove, her bright eyes concentrated on the road ahead, her soggy hair plastered haphazardly down her neck. I could feel the tenseness of her expression even if I couldn't see it, and I could, if I listened very closely, hear how I'd broken her from her own internal troubles.

"I'm just _sorry_…" I repeated myself, wanting to get the point across very clearly before I attempted to elaborate as much as I could, saying it in the only way that I could think of to fully express what I meant… Or at least I _hoped _she knew what I meant. I could only leave it to her to gather my meaning, something that I wasn't sure would work or not. But if anyone could understand what I was saying, it had to be Maya… "… For snapping at you… for being an ass… I'm sorry I kept thinking of you as Human…"

It was a long while before she spoke again, leaving me to wait in apprehension, fighting to keep myself from fidgeting against all common sense, and from her tone when she finally did speak I could hear how she was struggling with herself, trying to keep her voice from sounding choked. The sound made me want to wince, the fear of not knowing if she was trying not to cry because of my apology or because she was upset threatening to make me freeze up, something that I knew would be painful if I let it take hold of me. So I forcefully willed my muscles to remain relaxed… or at least, as relaxed as they were going to get in my position.

"It doesn't matter…" her choked tone was almost laughing, increasing my fear. Did human females get hysterical easily? Did a_ny_ female get hysterical easily? I wasn't sure… I'd never even _seen_ a female of my kind that I remembered other than my grandmother, and that had been… at least thirty years prior. And human females I'd never even spoken to other than in the two months I'd been in Maya's company. I admit my experience was lacking in _any_ sort of comfort. What if I'd said something that would make her go off the road?? _Oh, god…_ "Kiros, it doesn't _matter_… All that matters is that you get better in the end, alright? I can't _tell _you how scared I've been… When I saw them holding you against the wall like that… just in the time it'd taken to get the tarp out of the car… Kiros, I was _wrong_. I would have gotten us both killed if Salamander hadn't come along…" There was the sound of a sniffle, causing even more panic to settle itself heavily in my mind, "I... I just brushed you off, even though I saw you didn't like him. I know I was worried, but there's no excuse for that. You don't trust humans… Hell, I'm still not sure if you trust _me_. I don't blame you if you don't. I keep talking of equal treatment… and just _look_ at me…"

"Just look at you…" I agreed for a moment, letting that sink in, before I took as deep a breath as I could manage so I could speak, just praying that I wasn't going to make the situation go to hell because of my stupidity, "You helped me from the beginning… never asked for anything… Got me out of a lot… I treated you… like humans treat Irkens… Like I was _better _somehow…. I know I'm not…" God, I hated having a broken rib… Damn sentences were getting too long for their own good, and it didn't help that this was getting _really_ hard to say, "If anything _you're_ better than _me_… You keep trying… I snapped at you… Such a _stupid_… fucking thing to… do. Mouse… You're a friend… A _good_ friend… better than I am. I have no reason to be acting like this…"

There was the sound of a sob, and I cursed myself, my antennae flattening. Had I just made things worse? What the HELL had I done? Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut…. I knew I should have…

"Better stop Kiros… before I have to pull over…" she managed to choke a few words through her sobs, and if I hadn't been hurting so much I would have turned my head to look at her. She sounded… happy? Giggly, even…. "God, I never cry…"

This. Was. _Weird_…

"…Mouse… you alright?" I was almost afraid to even ask the question. I'd never seen moods change around so fast in a person… It actually scared me almost to the same degree as the…. _Octopus_… had. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I should have been referring to her by her nickname, but now that I thought of it she had asked me, hadn't she? Asked me… no, made me promise… that when I considered her a friend I would call her by it. As nicknames went, though, it was just plain wrong. Mouse _never_ acted timid like a mouse, not unless she was talking to her parents, and barely even then.

_I guess I'll never understand humans…_

"I'm… I'm better than alight, now, Kiros… I… can't explain it. Just know that… that everything's okay now, alright…? Everything's going to be alright…." That just confused me more. How could everything be alright now? Even throwing out of account the fact that we were both in terrible shape, we would get home late, there would be questions that Maya couldn't answer without revealing that all the trouble had been because of me. Parents were protective; I knew that it was only a matter of time now before Maya was forced to get rid of me.

Thinking on it sent a shiver down my aching spine. I didn't want to leave… not like _that_… But perhaps in an effort to lighten the mood somewhat, I took a shallow breath and spoke, turning her words into a joke.

"I don't know how you can _tell_ that… You psychic and not told me, or something…? Would explain a lot…"

From her quick giggle, I could tell that my remark had had the desired effect of lightening the heavy, stressful weight that had settled over the car. It was almost like bickering at home, and if I didn't move much I could almost forget how much it hurt to be conscious.

"Pessimist."

_Oh yeah?_

"_Optimist_."

As I had guessed it would be, the retort was immediate.

"Least _I _can be happy."

"Least _I'm_ realistic."

"Least I'm _not_."

I snorted lightly, trying to ignore the little stab that resulted.

"You sure that's something to be proud of?"

Silence. I couldn't help but declare a rather chancy guess.

"Hah, I win."

More silence. I grinned smugly to myself. I'd won an argument. Never mind that it wasn't in any way serious; I'd won it. Considering how rare it was for me to win any type of discussion with her, I considered it more than acceptable if I were perhaps proud of my achievement.

"…_Ki_-ros!"

Huh?

"What?"

"_Kiiii_ros!"

She was planning something; I knew it…

"_What_??"

"_Kiros_!"

"_What _do you_ want_??" Would she just _answer _me already?

"…Nothing."

…Okay… _now_ she was just being annoying on purpose.

"…_Damn_ you."

"I love you, too, buddy."

* * *

_I love those two XD_


	18. Entering the Dream

_Shorter chapter than the last today. I know, I know, you wanted more. But the next part is so awesome I wanted to cut it up a bit. It's going to be an even smaller chapter for the next, but twice as good :P_

_I wanted to express my squeal of delight that I still have many of my old reviewers and some new ones too! My joys abounds so much I want to write three new chapters if only I had the time today XD But sadly, I do not… I'm going on a vacation in the morning and won't be back till next week. HOWEVER. I **WILL **be bringing the story with me, and IF in the unlikely chance I get to work in it and be on the internet at the same time, the next chapter will find it's way here!_

_And yes, Kiros is jealous… JEALOUS THAT MAYA HAS FRIENDS THAT AREN'T HIM._

_Heeee's possessive._

* * *

The rain was getting worse. It was a type of rain that I knew was rarely seen in winter, a type of half-ice, half snow, falling heavily on the trees and power lines, freezing to them almost instantly in the wind. When it hit the windshield of the car, it made little cracking sounds, but was wiped away by the wipers before it could get a good hold. The same couldn't be said for the road. Against my will I tensed as the car hit another icy patch, the wheels spinning yet not gaining any traction, the entire car sliding at the mercy of the wind and its own momentum before finding another slightly clearer patch where it could gain traction. The experience, especially as a passenger, was frightening. Maybe if I had been driving I wouldn't have been so afraid, but as it was, just knowing from years of practice what was happening wasn't helping me relax any at all.

Since the worst of the storm had started I had shrugged out of the tarp a bit, freeing my head and antennae, my eyes locking on the road. There was silence in the car except for the sound of the rain because it was generally understood that Maya needed her concentration for this, and for the past ten minutes there had been no one else on the road except for the truck in front of us. As I watched, I saw the brake lights come on the truck, and felt Maya slow the car down as well, flipping on her blinker as Salamander did likewise. Carefully, the vehicle turned, sliding somewhat on the ice, but not too badly before the tires met dirt, and we traveled down the muddy driveway to an old farmhouse. In the rain and dark it looked foreboding and impressive, looming against the flat landscape with a windmill slowly turning in the wind. Even I could tell that it was only turning slowly because of the heavy ice that had already formed to it. Beside that specter was a gigantic red barn, some tiles on the roof of it flapping in the wind, a few flying off before my eyes to hit the ground more than thirty feet below.

"Better get your tarp on," the words were quiet, and I glanced over to Maya, who was looking outside with a mixture of apprehension and defeat, "This ice storm is bad… They never said one was coming…" I assumed 'they' were the weather reports. Humans often commented that they were never or rarely correct, but for some reason they trusted them anyway. I guessed that rarely correct was better than not knowing for sure yourself. Even I had been fooled by the sunny and bright weather just a few hours earlier, "I think… I think I'll have to call mom and tell her that we can't get back tonight… I don't think we can drive in this without crashing. I'll tell her I'm staying with a friend… I hope she'll understand…"

"So do I…" grimacing with the knowledge of pain to come and pain already coursing through me. I was getting very, very tired of pain. It certainly wasn't helping me any; besides make it known very clearly that there was something wrong with me, a fact that I was already well aware of. But rather than complain about it, I just lifted my arms as carefully as I could manage and flipped the top of the tarp over my head. This was going to be difficult, I knew, but at least I could brace myself.

The car door opened, slamming closed again a moment later, but it remained open long enough for me to feel the ice-cold wind slice through the car. I fought down a shiver, clenching my teeth. The wind was strong; it was going to be difficult to make it into the house, but I couldn't stay here. Determination flared in my mind with the force of a gale all in itself, my eyes hardening as I glared at the dashboard. I would not be beaten by weather. I was _Prince_ Kiros, and what would I be saying for my race if I let something like this overpower me??

_Not a whole heck of a lot._

My door opened, and I could see when I turned my head that both Maya and Salamander had come to help me out. In a way I was grateful, though in the back of my mind I felt the edge of resentment towards the red-haired male bubble again, my dislike for him not to be forgotten just because I was in pain and in a situation that did not favor me in the least. But he merely held the door while Maya carefully helped me stand, both of us trying very hard not to jar my side any more than it already had been. Even despite our efforts, it was no different from the walk to the car, every step an inferno of agony that was lessened only by leaning against the human so much that I was barely walking on my own feet.

But at least Maya had had some forethought and parked as close to the door as the car was possible to go.

I reminded myself to thank her for that.

"Once we're inside we 'ave to get 'im to the basement!" Even yelling over the roar of the wind, it was hard to hear Salamander speak. But already I felt a sinking feeling at his words. The basement meant stairs… lots and lots of stairs, "That's where I 'ave the med supplies! Got some that'll 'elp 'im better than any o' the 'uman supplies we got!"

Well, at least _that_ was a relief.

I didn't have much chance to admire the house, my vision almost double from the effort of getting _up _the three stairs that I had had to try and climb just to get into the door. Stairs were _not_ a good idea. But as Salamander led off into another door and I saw the drop, I changed my mind. Stairs weren't only a _bad_ idea; they were the epitome of all hell. In my dismay I found my legs had almost stopped moving, my gaze locked on the drop. I would trip, I would fall, or I would kill myself _somehow_ if the pain didn't get to me first. There was absolutely no way I could make that climb, and I knew it.

_Oh… not good…_

"Fuck this…" I had but a moment to wonder what the hell Maya meant by that before I found myself actually lifted off my feet. The sudden surge of pain made me yelp, but my weight was off my feet, and within seconds I realized that she had somehow managed to lift me up in a way that didn't put pressure on my broken rib. Sure, every other ache in my body was protesting, but those pains were nothing in comparison. My yelp died away as I found that Maya was quickly but carefully heading down the stairs, thus solving the dilemma of having me try to walk down them, something we both, apparently, had known I couldn't have done.

Salamander followed us down, and then took the lead, his previously wild red hair slicked down horribly from the freezing rain outside and his trenchcoat glistening wetly in the light from the stairway. Looking out of the corner of my eyes at Maya, I was inwardly glad that I still had the tarp around me, as her hair also was covered in the burning stuff, and it was likely that her arms and the rest of her was as well. But I didn't have much will to keep my eyes on the two humans, as with a hum the lights overhead activated. The bright light filtered down, an indigo blue in color, and the area we were in suddenly became twice as foreboding as before now that the objects in it were visible. Cabinets lines the walls, the steel counters to the back of the large room stacked with some different materials that I shuddered to think of what they might be, as judging from the gleam of blades and jagged edges, they looked to be quite painful, whatever they were used for.

"Bring him back 'ere…" Salamander's voice was almost a welcome relief from looking around at the place, and as I twisted my head around a bit to catch sight of him, I saw the lanky human male had taken off his trench coat, leaving him in a dark crimson shirt and long, black pants with many pockets. He shivered a bit, drying his hands and hair off with a thick towel that he had apparently pulled from one of the cabinets. The basement was a bit chill in this weather, the stone all around soaking in the cold of the frozen ground and icy wind, but as Maya approached I could see the furnace behind Salamander that had turned on and was pumping out heated air, trying to warm the house. Taking a few steps away from that area, the human male made his way further towards the steel counters, and when he had gotten there, flipped a switch that had been hidden, "Before the war, we 'umans didn't 'ave much in the way of medical advancements… but we stole some Irken technology from the ships during it. Not many people besides the 'ospitals can afford 'em, but I got my 'ands on one a while ago… Nobody wanted it 'cause it was one 'o the original invasion ship medchambers… Built for Irkens 'stead 'o 'umans, y'know."

Now that he had mentioned it and I knew what to look for, I could see the chamber he had indicated to with a gesture. It was so hard to see because it hadn't activated yet, nestled stoically like some great gargoyle in a specially made indentation in the otherwise solid stone wall, but now that Salamander was working the controls, that area lit up, the light that shone from it a much softer, more welcoming shade of deep magenta that soothed my eyes and made me feel much more stable and calm than the harsh blue light did. The inside of the tube-like chamber lit up, a soft, liquidy green of some substance that I soon realized must have been some sort of preserving liquid shifting and lightly bubbling within. Something within me stirred at the sight of it, images, so fleeting and elusive, playing at the edges of my mind only to slip away when I tried to grasp them. It was frustrating, and I groaned slightly in annoyance.

"Kiros…?" Maya spoke, and I reluctantly peeled my eyes from the device and looked to her, narrowing them in question. What did she want? Before I could even open my mouth, she answered me. I should have known better than to even think of a question, she always knew what I would ask, "Kiros, you have to get into the chamber to heal, but you'll be unconscious for a while… are you sure you want to risk it?" I could tell she was worried… She knew how I hated and distrusted most humans, and with Salamander working the controls, she'd guessed, correctly, that I would harbor a good deal of suspicion towards him. But none of that particularly mattered. I knew I wanted to go into that chamber… There was something important about it… I needed to know…

"…Yeah…" I nodded lightly, looking back towards the chamber. What was _with_ that machine…? Ugh, it was no matter trying to think about it too hard. I would be in it soon, and then maybe I would figure it out. Just the prospect of having no more pain seemed like a godsend at the moment… Fleetingly I wondered how Maya had known that I would be unconscious inside the chamber… but of course, the answer was right in front of me. She had studied Irken technology from her books much more extensively than I had. It would be odd if she _didn't_ know what the chamber would do…

"Alright, then! Bring 'im 'ere, and I'll set it up for 'im. I knew this thing would be useful one 'o these days…" Salamander stepped forward, pressing a few buttons on the chamber, and my antennae twitched in response to an airy, mechanical hiss. With a shuddering movement, the giant chamber detached itself from the wall, making the massive dark gray wires behind it that attached into the back of the chamber visible as they stretched easily to allow the movement. Sliding smoothly across its attachments, it tipped from vertical to horizontal, the green substance inside shifting in a nearly gel-like manner. I wondered in a moment of panic of I would be able to breathe in there. It didn't look like it... Would they give me some sort of tube to breathe through? That was the best guess I had… but of course it didn't stop my sudden apprehension.

"Okay… Kiros, right?" Salamander's question broke through my thoughts before I could become too leery of the gel, and I saw that he was looking at me, obviously unsure of my name. I fought back the glare that I wanted to level at him, instead nodding my head as curtly as I could manage to let him know he was correct. God, how that lanky creature irked me! Showing off, and then having the gall to forget my name… "Kiros. Good name… Well, Kiros, we're going to lay you into this thing 'ere, and whatever you do, _don't panic_. You can breathe in this stuff fine, so don't worry about it. But I gotta warn you, mate, it's gonna 'urt like a bitch for the first few moments. The chamber 'ere is gonna attach a little computer parasite to your spine, there… and from then on it'll put you in a deep sleep and 'eal your body. Whole process takes a few hours, but you'll be as good as new, afterwards. Understand all that, mate?"

_Hurt?_ _It's going to hurt_ more? _Aw, crap…_ Well, there wasn't much else I could do… I _did_ want to go into the chamber… A flash of pain at the beginning couldn't be as bad as the pain of at least two weeks of healing. Hell, even my shoulder had never completely healed, even after two months. The prospect of having all my wounds healed within a few hours was a bright one that I would be nothing more than a fool to pass up. Slowly, I nodded again, speaking in a quiet, rasping tone, "Alright… No use wasting time, chuck me in…"

Salamander nodded in understanding, and Maya, remaining very silent, especially for her, stepped forward to submerge me in the green liquid. Before she lowered me down, I took a chance to glance at her. The human girl's face was carefully blank, but of course I could catch the little flickers of her eyes, the way her mouth twitched downward every once in a while. She was nervous… _very_ nervous and worried. Her apprehension only served to increase mine, making me wonder what, exactly, my friend knew about this chamber that I didn't.

I mentally slapped myself out of my thoughts. Hadn't I learned already that suspicion against that human was almost always completely without reason? Maya was obviously worried about _me_. She knew what this chamber did, and was hoping that I wasn't going to be hurt any more than I was. Well, so was I. She was my friend, and I knew without even having to ask that if anything went wrong, she would be the first to notice it and try her best to set it right. Salamander be damned.

At that moment, the liquid, amazingly warm and, though it appeared thick, seemed to melt around me from my body heat, first met my skin. Carefully, as the substance buoyed me and offered support without pain, Maya took the tarp from around me, trying to keep the substance inside the chamber as it dripped off the surface of the covering. One hand was kept at the back of my neck as she lowered me down with a care that would have been nearly timid, if Maya had had any sort of characteristic that could be defined as timid. Despite myself I found that I held my breath as my head slipped under, my antennae wriggling as the gel-like substance engulfed them, making every nerve in them tingle even more than what the brush of fuzzy material caused. But my aching lungs and stinging ribs couldn't handle me holding my breath for long, and with a silent prayer to anything that would listen I took a breath.

And found that I could breathe.

My brow furrowed somewhat as I looked around, seeing everything through a slightly warped, greenish sheen, the liquid never harming my eyes in the least. It was as if I were merely in a different room, looking through the tinted glass at those I knew on the other side... As I watched in fascination, I saw the glass slide back over the opening that it had formed to allow Maya to put me in, melting seamlessly back into the smooth glass surface so quickly that I couldn't even tell where it had opened to begin with.

Slowly, very slowly, the entire chamber began to move, sliding back to its place against the wall, and there was a disturbingly clear click echoing through the liquid as I felt the entire thing shudder and stop, leaving me suspended in the center of the tank, my shoes brush the bottom, just that light touch enough to keep me floating, despite that the liquid seemed no denser than air. How was that possible…?

I didn't have much time to think on that question.

With a jolt that caused me to jerk away with a choked cry, there was an abrupt and piercing pain shooting up my back, the entire length of my spine feeling like it was simultaneously on fire and had a vise clamping down tighter and tighter on the nerves there. It was so intense that I found myself literally unable to move, temporarily -or so I _hoped_- paralyzed. I clenched my teeth, my eyes closing tightly, trying to get past it, to concentrate on something different. But it was hard to concentrate on _anything_ except that pain… that… but wait… there was something different… Beneath that pain, there was something _else_, a snaking, sliding feeling of cold metal wrapping, twining, _writhing_ under my skin. Searching out something that it didn't fully understand but knew was there.

As soon as it had begun, the pain vanished, and I had no more than the time it took to realize the new weight on my back before my vision went abruptly and completely black.

* * *

_I point and laugh at the cliffie, ahahahahahahahaha_


	19. Spirits of the Past

_Finally back from vacation!!_

_I'm sorry about the REALLY short chapter, guys, but I'll post the next segment within three reviews :P This one was just too good to not make it a stand alone._

_And I have to thank everyone for the reviews yet again! It was GREAT to see them all._

_I am very tired XD_

* * *

_Kiros, yes? Kiros, my Prince… come and speak to us…_

Huh? Who was that? Where was I? Blearily I allowed my heavy eyelids to lift a crack, having to make an effort to do even that. I didn't recognize the voice at all… it seemed so different from everything I'd known. And what was under me? It felt… like grass…. And why was it bright out?

I sat up; finding with surprise that doing so caused absolutely no pain whatsoever, and thus moving faster than I was accustomed to. But I didn't have much time to enjoy the lack of hurt, as with my eyes opening a bit more to take in my surroundings, I found myself soon snapping completely and almost violently awake. The sun overhead, a deep, orange reddish color that shone brightly and warmly with amazingly clear light, settled its rays on my skin as if they were meant to be there, heating comfortably. The tiny muscles in my antennae twitched them upwards as high as possible as thick grass fronds waved around me, the green carpet coming up to my waist and no more, it's color somehow more vibrant than all the grass on Earth ever had been. A few hundred yards away on every side, I could see the towering, majestic forms of trees swaying and rustling in the breeze, their leaves the same bright color as the grass.

This wasn't right… It was _winter_. The trees should be bare of leaves…

_Kiros…_

My head snapped over in the direction of the voice, and, thinking that it would be better not to meet anyone sitting like a moron in the middle of some field, I scrambled to my feet. My expression, however, I kept wary. I didn't know where I was or how I'd gotten here. For all I knew, it could have danger lurking around every corner.

_Kiros, it is good to see you…_

My eyes finally caught what I had been looking for, and for a moment I stopped, completely and utterly awestruck. Standing among the vibrant grass as if a part of the most perfect picture ever placed on a wall was possibly the most beautiful female I had ever witnessed in my life. Her gracefully curled ebony antennae were slicked down at the most attractive angle, every curve of her body accented by the flowing, ever-shifting pure white dress she wore. The silken ends of it wavered in the breeze of the meadow, making the flowing of the grass seem like paltry tricks of light in comparison. Bare shoulders gleamed in the light from the red sun, the fair green skin flawless.

She turned her head, her violet eyes locking onto mine, and I felt as if I would melt. _What a woman!_

"Kiros!" she called, and my antennae perked up impossibly high, wondering how she knew my name… why she seemed so _happy_ to call it. Her voice seemed like some goddess from beyond; so smooth as to make the very silk of her dress ashamed. I found my feet bringing me into a walk as my eyes remained on hers, swallowing a thick lump down from my throat. What would I say?? Oh, crap, what was I gonna say?? 'Hi, who the hell are you?' didn't seem like the proper question… no, it was way too… too…

"Damn, you're pretty…"

…Oh, that was smooth. _Smooth_, Prince. What a way to talk to a woman. Why not just drool all over her, huh? Stupid….

Yes… she was laughing at me, now. Even her _giggle _was perfect. God, I needed some better people skills… But at least she didn't seem _offended _by my stupid comment. That at least was a plus. It would be just like me to say something that would make her break out into tears and run away, or think I was an idiot, if she hadn't already guessed…

"What a way with words you have, my Prince," I winced, my antennae both falling flat, and she giggled again, only causing me to look more ashamed. Ugh… she thought I was an idiot… "We were hoping you'd like this simulation… It is one of the better ones we have done…"

"…W-what?" Can you say 'instant-sobriety'? Okay, now _this_ was weird…. Simulation? And who was this 'we'? How many personalities did this female have?? And where the _hell_ were we?

"We assumed you would require explanation, my Prince." Oh, good. So I was going to get answers after all. The woman… well, at least I _thought_ she was a woman… What she'd said before made me wonder _what _the hell she was… At least I wasn't feeling quite so awestruck anymore, which thankfully caused the fuzz on my mind to fade somewhat, "Your body is currently unconscious, held within the medical chamber. We have made it so… but the chance to talk to you is fleeting. Your wounds are not so grievous that we require much time to mend them… As of the moment you are held within your own mind, visualizing these images that we have sent here… We believe you call it 'a dream', except you will remember this one fairly clearly."

"Who _are_ you?" I couldn't help asking the question, everything about this situation having done a major flip since I'd woken up… or _not_ woken, depending on what angle I looked at it. This was just too strange… I found myself almost wishing that I could be awake in the chamber, no matter how much I knew that would probably hurt at the moment, "Where are we?"

"We are Achilles… a unit of PaK artificial intelligence designed by the great Irken scientists to mend those too important to mend naturally. As for where we are, we have told you that this is an image in your mind, created from pictures of the home planet Irk that we have transferred from our archives to your brain."

Wait, _what_? This was _Irk_..? I looked around at the landscape again, completely bewildered. It seemed so… _real_. And so… it just felt so _right_ to be here, even if it was just an image in my head. I belonged here… more than I ever felt I belonged anywhere.

"Wow…"

"Kiros, we have little time…" Achilles spoke again, and I turned my head to her… it… to catch what she/it was saying better… "We have learned of the state of the great empire from your memories… We have even learned of how precious little you have learned of your own culture… The mighty Irken race reduced to _this_… it nearly pains us to see it so. Irk… the real part of the shadow you see around you… she deserves to have her own people walk upon her, not such a low and _filthy_ race as these humans that keep you prisoner...!"

"Well, what can _I _do about it?" _Nothing, that's what_. I was, what, one half-free Irken on a planet that routinely shot us for sport. What the hell could _I _ever hope to do?

"You are the _Prince_ of the Irken Empire!" she rounded on me, her eyes sparking with belief and… anger? I couldn't tell, exactly, but whatever it was shook me to the core, and I jumped back, half expecting a blow to come, "A Prince is a warrior for his people! He does not flinch at danger! He does not show fear! He does not grovel like a filthy _mutt _for a race unworthy of licking his boots!! How far the great have fallen, when they cannot even help themselves! You are in the position of a lifetime to save your people, you foolish child, and you _must _take it!"

"_What_?? HOW??? _How _can I take advantage—_what_?!"

"_You_ are the spearhead…" her tone was chilling, and I shivered despite the warm wind, wanting so desperately to just turn tail at that moment. But I stood firm, unwilling to show any weakness to this… _computer program_, "You are the only one who can bring your people together. You are the only surviving member of the royal family, Kiros… the Prince. Make it _more_ than a title."

"…h..how..?" I backed up a bit more even against my own will as Achilles moved forward, looming over me, her purple eyes boring into mine and fiery with a passion that made me want to sink down and tremble. I gulped, shaking away the thought of those eyes running red with reflected blood. That just wasn't a pleasant image…

"_Revolution_, Kiros…" she hissed, a unnerving grin on her face as she leaned in close to me, "_Rebellion_."

And then, she disappeared, wisping away into mist as suddenly as if she'd never been standing there, her breath on my face. Alarm surged through me, and I looked around wildly, but the sun, orange-red to begin with, was setting against the trees, darkening to a glowing red, sending rays of the same color across the ground. Before my eyes, I saw those rays melt, dripping down across the meadow, staining the green in steaks. It was blood… so much blood.

_They will pay for making the Irken Empire suffer, Kiros. You can make them pay… Paint your path in a legacy of blood, and all will be well for your people…._

The landscape was fading, melting into mist, but that still didn't erase the terrifying image that lingered in my head. I desperately wanted to forget it, to let it fade in the same manner as the land beneath my feet had, to thrust it into the black void where _I _didn't even have a body anymore. But no matter how I tried, it clung to me, Achilles' words echoing in my head again and again, nothing but the echo, but just as powerful as if she were speaking them directly into my antennae.

_You can make them pay…_

_I could make them pay…_

_But… do I want to?

* * *

_

_My evil expression knows no bounds._

**_And in case anyone's wondering, it's pronounced 'ah-sheel', NOT 'ach-kill-es'_**


	20. Lash Out Very Explicitly

_NO COMMENT TODAY_

* * *

All was darkness and quiet, nothing moving at all in any direction that I looked, even the glow of the chamber barely able to pervade the blackness that lay across the room like some sort of chill, emotionless blanket. Eerie silence met my antennae, still submerged in the green gel of the chamber, letting it be known that there was no one outside that was moving around. I could never be sure of the exact status of the room, however, seeing as the liquid muffled all sound that reached me, but at least it seemed that that was only a temporary condition. The space before me was open, the door out of the chamber having apparently pulled back when I had still been coming out of my sleeping state.

_This is… peaceful…_

Mentally checking myself to see if there were any injuries, I was surprised despite myself to find that I felt better than I ever had, even the familiar ache of my shoulder having disappeared as if it never was. Tentatively, I breathed as deep as I could, finding no sharp pain, no catch in my chest, nothing that could indicate that I had ever been in pain. It looked like Salamander had been telling the truth when he said that this chamber could fix me up better than any human supplies.

Even if healing me meant that I had to talk to some freaky, obsessed computer program…

Slowly, with some apprehension, I reached one arm out of the liquid, shivering slightly as my skin met cold air. But I wouldn't let myself stop… I couldn't stay in here any longer, not only because I was feeling better, but because I no longer really wanted to learn much about the machine, and in the future I knew I would try to keep myself from being injured too badly to avoid having to spend more time in it. That Achilles was incredibly creepy…

But maybe she had a point? The Irken race had been enslaved for fifty years now, every member owned by some other creature… except for me. I was in a position to do great good… I had allies who would help me if I asked; I had the title that would help influence others to follow me…

And I had absolutely no skills whatsoever.

As my head broke the surface of the gel, I broke my train of thought in favor of slipping into a shattering series of violent coughs, finding quite uncomfortably that trying to breathe air with a lungful of liquid didn't work as well as I may have wanted. But the thick greenish stuff expelled from my lungs easily enough, and after a few minutes I was able to stop coughing so much and breathe normally in the chill atmosphere, a welcome relief after the near panic of my mind. There's nothing quite like not being able to breathe that brings out the will to survive in a person, as I'd seen many a time before.

It was a lot colder than I remembered it being in the house before, even colder than the shock coming from the heat-absorbing gel into a normal temperature room would be able to excuse. Climbing out of the chamber, I wrapped my arms around me and trembled as I tried to pick out something in the darkness that would help me. There didn't seem to be any towels anywhere, and my feet were already freezing. The floor was flat cement, not something that particularly helped much with the cold, but as I searched I heard a hiss behind me, and one of my shivering antennae twitched to the side. I turned my head just in time to be able to watch the chamber slide back into it's crook of the wall, and then shut down, all the lights within it turning off and leaving me in nothing but a cold world of pitch-black.

"Great…" I muttered to myself bitterly, "Just great…" I had no idea where the stairs were, no way to get to them without risking hurting myself rather seriously, which would just make me have to go right back into the chamber anyway, something which I wasn't planning on doing again any time soon. So I just stood there in the vain hope that my eyes would adjust, trying to ignore how I could barely feel my fingers and toes now.

Both my antennae shot up as I heard the soft, padding noise of footsteps, my eyes instantly snapping in the direction they were coming from, and I almost fell over with the pure relief when I saw the flame of a candle illuminating Maya's face as she looked around the basement. She had to have been searching for me; there was no other explanation.

"Mouse?" I called quietly, coughing a bit at the end as a last bit of green stuff came up, "Mouse, I'm over here…."

"Kiros?" her head turned in my direction as she head my voice, her eyes lighting up a bit, "Oh, thank god, Kiros, I was worrying my ass off about you… The ice storm knocked the power out, but the chamber has it's own internal power source so it was still able to heal you…. Or at least that's what 'Mander said. I've been checking on you every fifteen minutes since he dragged me upstairs when it started to get really cold…"

Oh… so that explained why it was so goddamned cold down here. Without power, the furnace didn't work, so of course the wind and rain and chill would seep through the house. Judging from how harried Maya looked at the moment, even in the weak candlelight, I was guessing that it had been quite a long time without power in the house. If she had been coming down here every fifteen minutes that meant that she hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever for the entire time I'd been out… The thought crossed my mind that that really wasn't good for her, especially since she'd been through the fight the same as I had and hadn't been through the medical chamber. But of course, looking more closely, I could see that any wounds she had were bandaged up cleanly. It was clear that she'd either taken care of herself or Salamander had.

Ugh, Salamander. Now that I was awake I couldn't use the excuse of being in pain to hide my dislike of the human male. That was a setback… in a way. I'd rather have no more pain than the ability to insult him at will, so I guessed that I could handle it. At least better than I could handle being completely soaked in a room that felt as if it could serve as an ice locker.

"T-thanks…" I muttered, not able to keep my teeth from chattering together as I spoke, "Is t-t-there anywhere warm in t-this house?"

She was standing near me, now, the candlelight reflecting a bit wetly from my skin, and as I spoke she reached out, a bit tentatively, to touch my shoulder, her eyes intense in what I guessed to be thought. As her skin met mine, I felt the warmth of her hand strike through the cold. It was a welcome feeling, as was the more feeble heat wafting from the candle, but just an instant later I heard her gasp, her hand tightening on my shoulder a bit.

"Oh my god, Kiros, you're _freezing_…!" she exclaimed before I could muster up the energy to stop my teeth from chattering and ask what she was doing. Before I could protest or even move, she wrapped her arm around me, pulling me to her so that I pressed against her skin. I froze instantly, my eyes wide as my antennae snapped against my head, clearly betraying how surprised I was at that. But despite any misgivings I had, she was warm… very warm, and I realized after a very long moment that she was trying to keep me from becoming too cold. That didn't stop the awkwardness, however… at least not for _me_. Damn that human…

"Mouse, what the--?"

"C'mon, we have to get upstairs and get you warm," she cut me off, either knowing what I was going to be asking or not wanting to let me finish the question, which I admit wasn't even beginning to be the most polite one in the books, in any case. As she began moving, I followed, feeling the cold air shift around me as we walked, but she never let me move very far from her, intent upon keeping me warm with an almost obsessively protective air. I cant say I wasn't grateful from the respite from the freezing air, or the light from the candle, but I found with some degree of puzzlement that my antennae flatly refused to rise from my head no matter how much I consciously willed it so.

Maybe they'd frozen to my head…?

Every step up the stairs was one in which I could feel the air warming just a tiny fraction, offering welcome relief to my sorely overtaxed skin. It was dark on the ground floor of the house, as well, though the windows offered some paltry light, just enough to be able to see vague shapes and nothing more, but I could see, illuminated by the candlelight, a few desks set up against rustic, nearly log cabin type walls, as well as some electric lamps that obviously couldn't be lit at the moment. Maya kept her arm around me, not allowing me much time to try and take in the surroundings as she lead through the house, clearly having traveled this way a few times before, most likely from how many times she'd probably come to check up on me.

How long had I been out, anyway?

"So 'e's finally awake, eh, mate? Good to see 'im up and about."

The room was filled with the softly flickering light of candles, at least a dozen of them set up in various places all around, setting a soft red orange glow the same color as the sun of my dream all around. The shadowed form of Salamander was sitting in one of the larger, rather heavily padded chairs, his long, lanky legs crossed in front of him. He watched us come in with his glitteringly blue gaze, not moving to help, but as I was currently glaring at him that could be reason enough for him not to approach. There was a book in his hands, something he had apparently been reading to pass the time.

"Better to see him warm," Maya's voice was a little irritated, but Salamander showed no change in his infuriatingly calm expression, "Help me here and get some towels, will you? You know this house a lot better than we do."

"No problem, mate. You'll 'ave your towels in no time." With that, the lanky male had stretched back to his full height, setting the book down as he strode off through a different door. I watched him go, my eyes narrowing down, but I couldn't keep my focus on him for long. Maya was already tugging me towards the couch, and reluctantly I allowed myself to be led to it. We both sat down in the unnatural silence of the candlelit room, the chill of the wind and ice outside seeping inexorably into the house and nipping lightly at my skin. Even Maya looked cold, shivering lightly, but as I had already discovered, she was one of the warmest things in the house, and still held me close to her to try and stave off my own violent shivering.

I had the vague idea that I should be saying something, but my teeth were chattering, and it seemed too much of an effort to stop them or form words from the movement. Towels seemed like a very good idea at the moment. I was glad Maya had thought of it, but of course the human girl would. She usually thought of everything before I did.

Too bad she hadn't thought of the attack outside the store…

"Back!" Salamander's annoyingly cheerful voice broke through my thoughts, and even though they weren't all that good anyway I glowered at him for the transgression. He smiled widely despite my continuing looks of irritation, tossing the towels to Maya and flopping back down on his chair, but he didn't pick his book back up, preferring to watch us, much to my increasing annoyance.

"Thank you," for some reason or other, Maya ignored the fact that the human male had thrown the towels at us, something that I knew she normally would have at least been a _little_ sarcastic about. But I assumed she was too worried to care much at the moment, especially since once she had the towels, she immediately set them against my skin and began rubbing me down. My eyes widened a bit in momentary surprise, but the friction caused by the movements made the towel and my skin warm up as well as dry me off faster, so I endured the treatment silently. In fact, I found that it was very soothing, and I closed my eyes after a moment, breathing deeper and shivering less and less as time passed. Even when Maya began rubbing down my sensitive antennae, I didn't do much more than twitch them a few times. It was amazing how careful she was being; I wouldn't normally expect a human to know anything about how to take care of antennae, but somehow the girl's ministrations weren't uncomfortable in the least. Funny how she always managed to show a new talent when you least expected it…

"'Ey mate, if you need dry clothes, I've got some that might fit you." Salamander's accented voice broke through the peace of the moment, and I slit one eye open irritably, my gaze focused on him as I gave an aggravated growl. The human was just plain insufferable! He smiled lightly upon hearing my audible disapproval, leaning forward on his chair, his hands lightly hanging in the air before him as he settled his weight onto his elbows. Ice blue eyes stared into ruby red for a moment of silence. That smugness he had was so _grating_…

"You really don't like me for some reason, don't you?" I rolled my eyes. Oh, how _did _you guess, you smart, smart human? I breathed a short huff, not deigning to answer when it was obvious anyway. Salamander continued on without even seeming to notice, "Y'know, I saved your life… most people would be grateful. But I don't really care about gratitude, lucky for you. Don't expect it, either. I'm just wondering why you 'ate me so much when I've done absolutely _nothing_ to you?"

"'Mander, ease up on him, will you? He's been through a lot…" Maya's voice rose over Salamander's, sharp and a bit biting as she fixed him with a glare from her intense emerald eyes. Inwardly, I gloated over the clear show of preference, not able to keep a triumphant spark from appearing in my eyes. If there was one worthy friend I had with the humans, it was that girl. Salamander just looked at her for a moment, one of his strange human brows rising up into his bangs, before he leaned back, brushing a lock of fiery red hair from his face and crossing one leg over the other.

"On the subject of that, Mouse…." He began with a casual air. I bristled visibly, my antennae snapping down at his tone and words. How dare he call her Mouse? Only friends could call her Mouse! He was just some _guy_ she knew and talked to on occasion, not a friend! He didn't know her! But… Maya said nothing, just looking a bit apprehensive, as if she knew what he was going to say and didn't like it. I glanced over to her quickly; what was wrong? "Now I think I'm curious as to why you 'ave an Irken in tow. Not very much like a loyal member of the InRA. Y'know, you could lose your name for this, 'ere. Lose everything you've worked for in all your years of working for them…"

Wait; this was something new, and I already didn't like it. I could feel my own expression turning from a disapproving irritation to one of just as much apprehension as Maya had, with a touch of puzzlement to go along with it. She could lose her membership to the InRA? _Why_?? Maya was nothing but absolutely dedicated to freeing and helping Irkens, so why would Salamander say something like that? I glanced quickly between the two of them, well aware of the fact that Maya had stopped running the towel over me, my confused gaze taking in her tense posture, the way her eyes both boiled with inner anger and brimmed with tears. What was making her so upset? She didn't deserve to be upset…! What the HELL was going on, here?

And Salamander… That damn human had never really changed his look. He was such an asshole; always so calm and collected when he was making others upset. I wanted so badly to just stand up and sock him right in the jaw, but he was at least a foot and a half taller than I was. There was no chance I'd ever win a fight, even if he went easy on me, especially considering I'd never even been able to put a single mark on those humans that had ambushed me outside the store. Even Maya could fight better than I could…

That… could end up being embarrassing, actually….

"It's not like that, 'Mander," Maya said quietly, but with feeling, her voice just begging to be a scream, but with a self-control I had always admired, she kept it back. My antennae rose the slightest bit without my bidding, reacting to my intense need to know what this situation was about, "I'm not a traitor to our cause… Kiros is my _friend_. I don't control him."

'_Don't control me'..? What is she…..? _Oh_… oh, that _stupid_--_

Anger suddenly flared in me, and my antennae snapped down flat against my head so hard that it ached, quivering in rage as I glared with renewed intensity at the human male sitting across from us. This Salamander thought I was a _slave_!!?? A _slave_, and not only that, but he thought that Maya had _bought_ me or something like that! Why that pompous, arrogant son of a-

"You asshole!" I growled out, leaping to my feet as well as I could at the moment. The sudden absence of the warm couch from my still damp back caused me to shiver again in the biting air, but there was no way I was going to notice it now. I was going to put this smug bastard in his place, once and for all, "You think that I'm some sort of a _slave_? I'll tell you right now that you barely deserve to lick our goddamn _shoes_, much less expect gratitude, the way you're acting! You come out of nowhere, being all _smug_ and _hero_, like you own the world! Oh, sure, you saved us, thank you very _much_, but you have the _nerve_…" I hissed my words now, my antennae standing up on end as I glared with fierce intensity down at the still reclining human, "You have the fucking _nerve_ to accuse Mouse of being anything but loyal to her cause. I am NOT her slave! She saved my _life_, she gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere to go, and she gave me a _friend _where I had no one in the world, before!" I suddenly paused, a little shocked at the intensity of my own words and the admission that Maya was possibly the only thing I had in my life that made it possible for me to continue living, but I was unable to really stop now that I'd begun speaking, so I forced that out of my mind, finishing with the most venomous words I think I'd ever spoken in my entire life, "I owe her more than I owe anybody… So shut. The. _Fuck_. Up."

With that, I just stood there, glaring down at the infuriating but delightfully shocked icy blue eyes of the human male as I tried to sort my mind back to some semblance of normality, coming down from the high of anger. It looked like I had finally accomplished my goal of telling him off, though, and for that I was glad. For once that smug look had been wiped off his face, replaced by a blank expression that made him seem as if he were a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic, staring in wonder at it's approaching death. After a long moment, though, he broke his gaze, lifting a hand to run rather hard through his ruffled red hair as he stared at the floor now. It took me a moment to realize that I was still quivering tense, and with a conscious effort I had to force my muscles to relax, still glaring at him, but with a good measure of triumph in my gaze. Let the human try to say that I was anything other than a free Irken, now. I'd put him back in his place as many times as I needed to.

_Rebellion…

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_

_Annnnnnnnd… cut off XD I didn't want this chap to be seven pages long… so I had to cut it short… this was the best place :P New chap should be up soon enough. We're approching the part of the story written more recently, so I may take a while to put up new chapters. I like to stay at least ten pages ahead, y'know._


	21. For The Empire

**READ FIRST: **

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of **ChibiXzaide**. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her. _

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"Kiros…" I suddenly was broken from my momentary dominance over the human by Maya's quiet voice, and with a quick start I glanced a little furtively over my shoulder to her, my antennae lowering somewhat and a bit of a sheepish smile coming unbidden to me as I thought for a split second that she would be angry with me for being so rude to her friend, no matter how much he'd deserved it. But no, when I saw her face, practically glowing with pride as she grinned faintly, standing up and pulling me into a tight hug. I tensed up a bit automatically, wondering why she seemed so happy… It wasn't as if anything I'd said had been any more than the truth, after all, and since she hadn't looked like she was going to stand up for herself, well… someone had to do it, and she was my friend, after all. My only friend. 

_You could call it paying her back for all the help she gave me, but really I just did it because she needed the help… I think…_

"Thank you so much…" She kept me in the hug with the strength that almost made me want to try to pry her arms off and ask what was wrong with her, but that would have been pretty rude, even _I_ could tell that, and with a heavy sigh I gave up on hoping that she might let me go all that soon, just letting myself relax the tiniest bit. Apparently somewhere in my rant at Salamander I'd done or said something that she was grateful to me for… maybe I'd ask her what it was later. At least with her clinging to me like she was it wasn't as cold to just be standing there. I could feel my back tingling as the chill air of the room began to seep through me again, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling, but where he arms were around me the chill didn't reach; only a comfortable warmth.

But I had to admit; this was pretty awkward, too… If I had a choice between either having a human clinging to me, or being cold…. Well, I'm not sure I could say which one I would choose.

"You're… welcome…?" I offered, even my voice having become a bit flustered and tentative as I wasn't quite sure if I should be saying that when I didn't know quite what she was thanking me for yet. But I felt that I had to do _something_, so even more awkwardly, I raised a hand, gently patting her back a bit. Though to my slight relief and a bit of dismay, as her arms loosening had that unpleasant effect of allowing the cold to seep in again, she let go at my movement, looking to me with an expression that I could only deem as some version of smugness. Why were humans so hard to read? It was almost as if they had all these expressions just so they could mean the complete opposite most of the time, just to make it hard for me to read them…

"Any chick out o' the egg could see that 'e's not a slave, now, mate," Salamander broke through the moment with a voice that felt as if it were rocks embedding themselves into my skin as slowly and jaggedly as possible, and as I turned my head to glare at him, all my confusion immediately turning to hostility and annoyance, he sat back with a thoughtful expression, putting his fingertips together to complete the picture and locking Maya in his ice blue gaze. In that moment I saw something different about this otherwise smart-assed human…. There seemed to be a serious side to him after all, a side that had a mind behind it that could easily run circles around the best other humans had to offer. For the first time since meeting him I felt a small flicker of apprehension towards this creature. I should have known earlier, when I had seen him take on those gang members. He was more dangerous that he chose to let himself appear... Suspicion clouded my gaze, now, as well, I knew it; Maya had always said that no matter what I did, my eyes always gave me away.

"No, 'Mander, he's not. And for as long as I've known him, he never _has_ been." Maya answered quickly and surely, her words ringing truly and her voice back to that strong, nearly defiant tone that I had grown so used to hearing in the past few months. I turned my head to her for a moment, watching her as she seemed to spontaneously regain that spark of life that made her emerald eyes so fiery, her countenance turning from a small, confused and scolded human girl to that of a natural born leader, someone who could command armies if she chose, because she believed for what she was fighting for. As I watched her, she raised a hand to flip back a stray lock of her brown hair, the movement very nearly challenging Salamander to disbelieve her statement.

_Leave it to Maya to stare down anyone who gets in her way…_I thought smugly, twitching one of the muscles on my head so that the sweeping scythe at the end of my antennae flicked in the air with a quick, nearly indecipherable movement. If my eyes really did display what I was thinking, then I hoped Maya could see how proud I was at that moment to see her so much like her old self. Heh… it was odd to think that I'd ever be proud of a human, much less want them to know that. Living in that house… it had changed me, I guess. I'd never known anything really good in my life that I could remember until then… I'd always been so suspicious of everybody and everything.

Well… I still was suspicious… just not as much.

"Then you know what this means, don't you?" his words were even, his posture never changing as the atmosphere of the room sudden got quite a bit more serious. Ugh, I felt like I was some sort of spectator in a particularly important game of chess… except I was just a cold Irken standing in a freezing room lit by a bunch of pitiful candles. Yeah… that was a strange mental picture… even worse to think that this may be one of the most important discussions I ever heard in my life.

"Of course I do, I'm not an idiot." I was amazed at how calm her voice was, now…. Still challenging, still strong…. But just… calm….

"This was the one we'd been looking for since 'e got out… I assume, mind you, that 'e requested that you not give out 'is whereabouts. Otherwise you'd be in more than a spot 'o trouble anyway. But after the reports died down an' all I thought 'e'd just been cut down by a street gang or got caught out in the rain…. You found the free Irken…" He fell silent for a moment, his thoughtful look deepening as he seemed to brood over that, "Maya, I always knew you'd be great… wonder if you ever knew 'ow great you're gonna be…."

So maybe I had been wrong in thinking that I was confused _before_, because hadn't that insufferable male just been threatening to take her right out of the InRA for what she had supposedly 'done'? Wait, no… he had thought that I might have been a slave, but that still didn't explain why he said something like _that_. Yes, Maya would be great… but nothing in her greatness had anything to do with me. And even if it did, where was he going with it, and would he get to the point anytime soon? This conversation was just all around uncomfortable, not to mention that despite the towels, my back was still quite wet from the greenish fluid I'd been laying in… I was only glad that the stuff didn't turn to water in the air. Or perhaps I was just too numb to feel it if it did?

Ugh, no… nothing could make me too numb to feel that.

"How the hell do you know my name!?" My mind snapped back almost as quickly as my gaze snapped over as Maya yelled that out, her eyes wide and her posture suddenly rigid. I immediately brought my attention fully back to the situation on the instant, feeling the muscles that controlled the movement of my antennae contract tightly to bring them standing on end. The cold of the room intensified again, suddenly feeling as if it were emanating from my bones as I felt the shock of the realization bring its full force upon me. Salamander had never been told Maya's real name in all the conversations I'd heard, and unless she had told him sometime during when they'd talked before, he shouldn't have known it at all. And judging from Maya's reaction, she definitely hadn't told him a thing. That was probably due to that 'confidentiality' that all of the members of the InRA held in highest regard.

And it didn't help that Salamander was still sitting there, looking very seriously at Maya. I felt myself grow slightly nervous as I saw how intensely his icy blue eyes gazed at her, my own eyes searching the room for routes of escape should things turn ugly, as I knew that they easily could. It was a bad situation in that case, as with the ice storm still raging outside, even if Maya could escape, I couldn't, and going out into those temperatures was just asking for some form of death, even for a human. I knew that we would both fight him, but I also knew that we would both lose, too….

It wasn't a pleasant thing to be contemplating.

_Breathe Kiros, just breathe…_

Salamander's sudden warm smile was something I wasn't expecting.

"Who d'ya think looked over your application into the organization, hm?" his reply was smooth, and as I just rose a brow, I both felt and heard Maya beside me suck in a sharp breath. I hoped for a small moment that the effect was simply caused by surprise, and not anything harmful, but as I was more focused on making certain that this other human made no wrong moves, I couldn't exactly spare a glance to her, as much as I may have wanted to make sure she was still alright. There was still something that I didn't trust about him, and nothing in the world could make me forget that hawk-like gaze from before, how cold his ice blue eyes had been as he stared at her… "I'll tell ya one thing, Maya… you've been the focus o' the inner circle for quite some time now. And as o' today… well, welcome to it."

As I was still puzzling over those words, he moved to stand, and though I was still highly suspicious of him, at the moment he didn't seem to want to hurt either of us, so I just narrowed my eyes to make it clear that he was 'on parole' as the humans said, radiating as much quiet hostility as I could muster up. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Maya look about as puzzled as I was, though she at least would have more idea of what Salamander meant by his words. Being in her home only three months, I had heard of the 'inner circle' only in passing on the InRA site, and no one there had known much about it other than that's where the orders came from. I supposed it was necessary for secrecy, but it still seemed wrong. There could be all manner of ulterior motives from a secret ring of higher ups.

Slowly, or perhaps the movement was only made slow by the seriousness that permeated the moment, Salamander extended one hand to Maya, and I recognized an attempt at a handshake. As Maya began to raise her own arm to take his hand, I felt the twitch in my skin as my antennae lowered down, slowly flattening themselves against my head. Bristling? Bristling was a gentle term for it, really… but I held my tongue with an effort. Something in me was just flaring… I think I seriously wanted to bite the guy.

"Arthur… Arthur Atrieyu, at your service," he said as he took her hand with a firm grip, shaking it once before letting go. Unconsciously, I let out the breath I had been holding, having been waiting for all manner of horrible things to happen in that small instant, and silently wondered why Salamander… or Arthur, as he had just revealed, would do such a thing as tell his real name to someone who could easily turn him in… Not like Maya would, but the question remained; how did _he_ know that she wouldn't? "Me and m'dad are the founders of the movement… and we both want you in on it. Maya, you are the single most determined person I've ever set my eyes on, and you really feel this cause. I can tell you do. I could from the beginnin'."

I remained silent. I wanted to look over, wanted to see what reaction Maya had. But I wouldn't let myself do it. I just kept looking at Salamander… Arthur… all thoughts running through my head focusing on how he could use this a thousand different ways to turn it against us, could spring and ruin all forms of tentative truce we seemed to have gained over the past few minutes. I couldn't even feel the cold anymore; I wasn't sure if that was a bad or good thing. Everything in the silence was just….

Breathing…. Even the ragged sound of breathing…. Sensitive hairs along the entire length of my antennae picked up the tiny air currents, the disturbances that were classified as breathing. I could hear my own, past the blood rushing through, my heart thumping against my ribcage. Salamander's breathing was short, deep, but almost too quiet to make out…. The breath of someone waiting, holding their breath…. Wanting to know….

Maya's had ceased altogether….

That, out of all things, made me look over to the girl, panic flaring in my mind. Impossible things flit through my head in that split second. Could she have died standing right there next to me? The thought was numbing, and it was with great relief that I saw she was still very much alive. Alive and starting at Salamander like he was some sort of crazy demon from the abyss. For some reason or other, I felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction at that, but it was gone in an instant as I remembered that in looking over to Maya, I had let my guard down, had allowed Salamander a chance to attack. Mentally, I grimaced, wincing down, but that image in my mind was only displayed by a sudden blink on my part, my gaze snapping right back to where it had been. I couldn't afford to be careless. Not when so much was on the line.

"I guess… that means our lives are gonna get a whole lot more interesting from now on, Kiros…." It took me a full five seconds to actually realize that she was talking to me, but the familiar yet somehow more prominent movement of the thin but strong muscles under my scalp showed me that my antennae had automatically risen at my name. Interesting? I had a feeling that was putting it mildly. Harrowing, death-defying…. Maybe terrifying, yeah…. Interesting was just such a general term. But, nonetheless, the words brought with them a small sense, a flitting moment, where it felt like everything was just…. _normal_. And it was for that that I found myself giving my friend the tiniest smile. It was genuine, though, and I hoped that's what counted. I don't think I could have managed a bigger smile with how stressed I was at the moment.

"I guess…." It was the first time I'd spoken since just after my outburst, and the words felt strange to say, like it was someone else doing the talking, and I was just sitting at the sidelines, watching the goings on. In a way, I guessed I was… I mean; look at what was happening in front of me! This was something…. Big. I think I could sense it in my inner being. Maya was becoming more than just something great stuck in a less-than-great spot in life… she was getting a chance to become a legend. I was just… well…. standing here watching it all.

I wasn't even sure if I was a part of it…. Did I even want to be? The question bumped around in my head a bit, turning, twisting to every angle. In a way, it brought a sense of shame to me as I remembered some of the events of my sleep, and some of the earlier memories I had of my Grandmother. Everyone kept telling me that I was the one destined to bring the Irken race back to freedom. Everyone kept calling me Prince… but what kind of Prince would sit and watch while the very race that had enslaved his people took the lead in freeing them?

The effect was like having cold water splashed in my face. Shocking, chilling, and utterly painful.

I had to stop wasting time and be what I was _born_ to be….

"Now that we're all here," I spoke with that same feeling of numb detachment. This was a great moment, a moment that could make or break me, as far as I was concerned… and it felt disturbingly like that moment… such a short time ago but so utterly long, when I had taken the baseball bat, had lifted it over my head and brought it down. Each syllable was like the wet, cracking impact of metal against flesh and bone. I wanted to stop, but even more, I wanted to speak, to be that leader everyone expected me to be… to let that bat fall until I couldn't even lift it anymore, "Maybe we can figure out how we're going to free the Irkens… I know _we_ can do it… if no one else can."

I wasn't sure if the words were lifting a weight off of me or piling a new load on.

Responsibility…. There were certain kinds of responsibility. When I had been a slave, well…. I had been responsible for getting my job done. But that… that was just for me. I hadn't had to think about anyone else. Not my master, not the other Irkens, not the workers. I hadn't cared about them…. But this… this was a whole different type of responsibility altogether. It… felt like something important, like I was actually doing something that mattered for once. That feeling was so strange, but I think I liked it…. I liked doing something that would change my future, and maybe the future of others that had been like me.

I couldn't be the one standing on the sidelines forever.

_Good job, Prince Kiros… step number one. Now you only have about a million more to go…_

Eyes… I could feel their eyes on me, one pair emerald green like the leaves and the other as clear a blue as the ice that coated everything outside the house. I think I'd surprised them… but I wasn't sure what there was about it that could have. It was their purpose wasn't it, to free the Irkens? Maybe it was because I had deigned to actually include Salamander in on the 'we'; as little as I liked or trusted the human, I knew that I needed his help. It was painful even to admit to myself, needing help, but I'd had enough practice while living with Maya, and I figured I'd better get used to admitting it a lot more from now on.

As defiant as I could be, drawing myself up, I looked at them both. For a flitting instant, I wished I were a little taller…. Even Maya was a full three inches above me in height, and whatever effect I may have been going for seemed dimmed down by that insignificant fact.

I waited for them to speak.

"Now or never," Maya was the first to speak, those jade eyes gleaming with that inner flame, a flame that was fast becoming an inferno. Salamander himself was grinning, a slow grin that spread across his face with the same resolve as frost forming over and window. Something within me was boosted at the feeling that both of them would be in on this… that I wouldn't be alone in my plans, and I didn't _have_ to be. It was with a decisive movement that Maya put her hand out, the soft, pale peach contours of it seeming strangely bright in the dim room, illuminated gently with the flickering flames of the candles placed all around. I found myself just staring at it, not quite sure what to do. Shake hands…? But no… it didn't look like that was what she wanted to do…

Salamander provided the answer, surprisingly, reaching out with his own hand and placing it on top of hers. For a moment, I was confused, and again I found myself bristling slightly, but the confusion took precedence, as the movement seemed… strange. Cautiously, I raised my own hand, reaching out, and placing it on top of both of theirs. Mine was very cold, I could tell that just from feeling the heat that wafted off from theirs, and I could feel Maya's gaze become flittingly worried for a second, before this time it was Salamander that spoke, towering over both of us, his flame red hair looking like actual fire as he stood in the candlelight.

"And the meek rose up to conquer the demon from the fiery pits of hell. Not because they were weak, no, but because together, they were strong," his intonation seemed much like some sort of prophecy, and my skin prickled with it. It was about us…. I wondered for a second if he thought we would succeed. I supposed he must; no one could afford to get into any kind of battle with the mindset that they would lose. It only made it more likely that you would, "For the Empire."

"For the Empire," Maya's words joined his, and I looked up from our hands, gazing into the pair's eyes, a grin growing on my face without any real intent to form one. This feeling was so rare; it felt, in this moment, like if I wanted to, I could just walk out into the ice, walk out and scream my defiance to this world and it's people, and they would crumble.

I had hope.

"For the Empire," I finished.

_We have a lot of planning to do.

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_

_3 yes, indeed! Planning... oh how I wonder what will happen next _


	22. Pull Through

**READ FIRST: **

_This story was first and foremost inspired by a friend of mine at the time by name of **ChibiXzaide**. The original concept of Kiros was hers, as well as the idea of Irkens in slavery. It was her dream that I based this on. Though we've fallen out and I continue to write this independently, I still want others to acknowledge that she is the creative genius behind this. I wouldn't have written any of this if not for her.

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_

_Hello all!_

_Another chapter for you! I'm not feeling too great right now so I was making this quick update._

_Not a lot of action in this one either... but unfortunately ...theeere's a lot of... things that need to be established for the story to flow smoothly enough. Plus I really like tormenting Kiros..._

_Really._

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"Do you really think he'll hold up his end of the bargain?" 

I'd probably asked the same question around a thousand or more times in the past week or so, and already, we both knew how hopeless it was to answer. No matter how much I was reassured, there was little that could stop that sneaking, slinking suspicion that there was something to distrust about the entire situation, that something could go wrong, and _would_, if for even one second any one of us stopped thinking on it. Maybe my years of slavery had conditioned me into never letting my guard down if I could help it, or maybe it was just that innate dislike of the man and all that he was a part of that I simply could not find a reason for but supported all the same, but I just couldn't bring myself to believe that that television screen would display those few little numbers that apparently would be the crux of our entire operation, as much as it still eluded me _how_ after so many explanations.

We had spent that entire night planning it all out…. Everything, and I mean _everything_, rested on this single moment. The plan, my race, the remainder of both my and Maya's life… We'd only get this single chance, and if _anything_ went wrong…

It was enough to make me want to chew my own leg off from the tension. Well… maybe not literally, but the stress level still remained pretty high even with all the efforts of distraction. There was a knot in my gut that refused to untangle, making even eating something hard to do. I'd never been so nervous in my life… even when my former master had brought out the whip…

I shook my head to rid myself of those memories.

She looked at me, and I let my eyes drift to hers in return, forcing a bit of an innocent smile to my face. It still felt so odd and uncomfortable, being back to our old routine after all that had happened that night outside the store, even after a week to try and get used to the normality. But I supposed that I'd better enjoy it while it lasted. After all… if everything went according to plan like it was supposed to, we wouldn't have much longer to just sit around, lounging on our beds and watching television like two outlandish roommates.

Now there was an odd thought….

"Kiros, I've told you a million times; if _he_ can't do it, no one can. So hey, shut up and watch TV, alright?" the tone was lightly exasperated, but not angry to my extreme relief. At least Mouse seemed to understand my insufferable apprehension and how I simply couldn't stop it. In fact, I'd guess that she'd probably been asking herself the same question as many times as I'd been vocalizing it, yet as always she had a much more quiet and controlled way of dealing with it…. something that almost surprised me, since I had never used to be so vocal... But at least she was nice enough to be optimistic as well. Myself, well… yeah, of course I had _hope_, but you could have a truckload of hope and still feel overwhelming anxiety to go with it. And I wasn't nice enough not to say I didn't trust Salamander, or perhaps I just didn't like him enough to want to trust him. Either one.

_Hey, try to lighten the mood, dumbass!_ The thought shot through my head completely unbidden, shocking me out of what was certainly going to turn into a bout of brooding if I would have continued. I seemed to do that more than I really should have; if I wasn't complaining or making a dry comment on some form of something, I was always thinking to myself… Even my own brain was starting to get tired of the constant noise.

Well, I suppose I couldn't argue with myself, there.

"What if I don't wanna watch TV?" I asked after a moment, clear by my tone that I was at least half-joking as I pointedly turned my face from the television, snorting lightly and forcing my antennae to snap down against my head, enhancing my look of a pouty, whiny individual. If I were going to be pulled into a banter against my will, I was certainly going to get it right and try not to have any misunderstandings. Who knew, maybe I'd even catch Maya off guard with something. I always did like to outdo her in something like this.

It made me feel like I'd actually accomplished something, strangely enough.

"Then you miss everything and will never be privy to the first _glorifying _step of the plan."

I grinned despite my resolve to continue to act as if I were having a tantrum. Her answer was just as toned as mine yet sans the whiny part and added in the droll tone of pure fact, and I was glad that I'd at least gotten it right for once when I'd figured that some sort of joke was needed. It was so difficult to be… normal, I guess. When all you were expected to do was keep your head down and serve quietly, I suppose it left no room for really learning any social niceties or subtle signs beyond the ones you needed to know to tell if someone was going to hurt you or not, even with the other Irkens it was so much like a pack of rabid dogs fighting over scraps... The thought was more than a little infuriating, the beginnings of cold yet hot anger starting to stir in my gut alongside that gigantic knot of apprehension, but I squelched it as quickly as I could. There was no reason to get pissed off at nothing, here… I was in a different life now.

_Heh… a different life… is that really how I think of it?_

"You sure that's a bad thing?" My reply was quick, a quip that I was pretty proud of, considering that even with how much practice in it I'd gotten in while living with Maya, I'd never been quite as able to throw in a comment with as much smoothness as she could. Maybe I just thought too much… Did I think too much? It's not like I had a reference or anything… thoughts couldn't exactly be broadcasted unless you said them, and there was no way to tell what other people thought or how _much_ they thought.

My tangent thoughts on the matter were, of course, interrupted rather suddenly by the unexpected feeling of being hit by some soft object. Whatever it was; fuzzy, light… it scraped across my head and antennae, bouncing off almost before I had time to register it enough to jump and yelp. My hands moved instantly, wiry muscles snapping to grab whatever it was, and at seeing the fuzzy black pillow, I could do nothing but stare blankly at it for a moment, before my eyes snapped up, throwing Maya as indignant a glare as I could manage. Infuriatingly, she only smirked, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to fight to keep laughter in. I could tell, because she was attempting pretty unsuccessfully to hold her breath.

"I'll get you back for that," I said promisingly. Throw a pillow at me, would she? I could play that game… and I could win it, too.

"I'm sitting right here," despite how she couldn't stop the giggle from her voice, the challenge in her tone was still quite evident to me, and I found out in that moment that I was very competitive as she spread her arms out, showing that she was, indeed, right there. That added to the challenge more than anything; she was daring me to back down. That much I knew…. I could remember hundreds of other incidents from way back when in the less fortunate past.

The only difference here was that it was all in fun.

"You asked for it," my glare seemed to just drift into another grin, and I wondered for a second if I actually had any control over those expressions that I kept finding myself sporting. It didn't seem like it anymore…. I remembered there was a time when grinning seemed completely impossible. Now it was an everyday occurrence… I even felt… younger. I know it was strange, as I wasn't all that old for my race, in any event. Hell, I didn't even know how many years I'd spent in slavery, but I knew I couldn't be much more than the equivalent of maybe twenty one… if that. Old enough to drink if I were human….

Not like that had anything to do with, well… anything. Technically, I was old enough to be _dead _if I were a human.

It wasn't a great thought. But then again… hadn't I just been trying to have fewer thoughts?

The black pillow flew through the air on a course straight for the girl that I had so recently been somewhat forced into sharing my life with, and to avoid the instant catch and retaliation I knew was coming, I ducked to the side, flipping the covers on my bed back to grab the pillow there, using that as a type of double-pronged attack as I threw that as well to either hit her with it or deflect the pillow that was probably well on its way to returning to me. After that, I attempted to make a quick leap over to Maya's side of the room to leap onto her bed and grab her other pillow before she would have a chance to. I mean, disarm and conquer was better than letting yourself get bombarded any day. Maya had more pillows than I did.

And for once in quite a long time, maybe even my whole life, I stopped thinking as much.

It was all just fun.

A squealing giggle told me that at least one of my 'attacks' had hit, and I grinned even wider than ever, my antennae rising as I snatched up Maya's pillow before she could get to it, shouldering her out of the way a bit with a victorious 'hah!' as I clutched the pillow to me, turning to 'face my adversary'. Mousy brown hair flew as she whirled to grab not only the original thrown pillow, but mine that I had thrown at her as well, and for an instant I was a little dismayed at such an obvious disadvantage that put me in. Well, that wasn't fair! She had two pillows and I only had one!

I'd just have to _make_ it fair.

"Cheater," I accused, still grinning to lessen the impact of it, though I figured it would be easy enough to tell that I had something up my sleeve from my expression, even with the differences between human and Irken. But it wasn't like I'd give Mouse the time to figure that out or get away. It was almost instantly after I said that that I lunged. Not well, though, since it was incredibly difficult to lunge well at anyone from a sitting start on a surface as hard to balance on as a bad and twice as heard to make any sort of 'flying leap' from. But I did manage at least a good resemblance of it, I think, or else I made a spectacular flop. It was enough of a flop that I actually grabbed my pillow by a corner before I managed to lose my balance, in any case.

Losing my balance, or even lunging in the first place, probably hadn't been the best idea on a bed as high as that one, in retrospect.

_No shit, Sherlock. _

It was another one of those moments where time seemed to stand still for just a second, a clarity snapping into focus just long enough to make one realize exactly what was going to happen next, yet still be as powerless to stop it as ever. As my fingers closed on that pillow, as Maya began to snatch it back to her, and as I lost my balance on the edge of the bed, well… there was only one logical thing that could happen. On that note, I wasn't even certain why I'd been lunging from the edge of the bed in the first place. Had I just not noticed where I was? It seemed so.

"Whoa!" It was all I could manage to say before everything was just a confusing tangle of bumps, what would certainly soon be bruises, and then a very final, jarring impact of shoulders against a hard surface that signified the end of the journey to the floor. I blinked, just staring up at the ceiling for a second. How did I get on the floor? And since when was that spot there? It looked as if the ceiling needed repainting, as unlikely as it was that it would ever be done.

"It's on!" I heard the oh-so-familiar voice call from above me, and perhaps I would have quirked an antennae if both were not somewhat painfully pinned under my head. Wha- oh! The numbers! I chided myself silently from where I lay for thinking that my friend's sentence could pertain to anything else, especially with the excited manner in which she said it. It was odd, however; I never remembered myself being such a silly, giddy fool before, but maybe it was just the need to be normal…. Or the fact that before now, being a kid was something I'd never had a chance to do. I mean, why couldn't I fool around if I wanted to? Maybe I was older than usual for stuff like pillow fights, but I didn't see how age made a difference, not really.

The muscles in my brow pulled together, a somber look crossing my face as my eyes narrowed a bit. Was this the last time I'd get to be anything but serious? That responsibility weighed down on me again, the responsibility of being a Prince. From what I'd read, human Princes were noble, brave, serious people who always got the job done and were always so formal. But… what if I didn't want to be like that? Would an entire race follow someone like me? Ugh, maybe this wasn't the best time to be thinking of these questions, but, but I just couldn't help it. Nerves, anxiety, what ifs… they all built up on top of that lingering adrenaline from the pillow fight.

What if I wasn't good enough, and everything went wrong because of me? I knew I was the weakest of the three… It's just, how could I not be? I'd been a slave, used to keeping my head down, scared to death of most humans even now and even though I wanted so badly to defy them all, to break from this never-ending shithole that would be the end of my people if I didn't do something. How many times had Maya and I gone out, and walked around only to see some human pulling an Irken slave behind them, making them walk ankle deep in the snow and ignoring their whimpers of pain as it melted on their skin? I'd wanted to do something every time, and had just itched to grab the nearest heavy, blunt object and start pounding on the humans who did it… but even though I had warm clothing and new shoes and a friend to talk to… I just couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to move to help. What would happen to me if I did? Maya would be punished… I'd be killed or worse. And if you think there isn't anything worse that being killed, think again. They didn't call it the 'screamer bin' for nothing, with my old master… and though I'd never seen the inside, I'd heard the sounds. They'd haunt anyone, and they haunted me. My nightmares still echoed with it.

I jumped as something suddenly connected with my forehead, too surprised to even yelp as my thoughts were still swirling down that drain in my mind. What the-? Wait… was that… Oh, it was Maya. The human girl was crouched beside me, grinning her head off as she held her hand poised for another tap to my skull. How had she gotten there, and why hadn't I noticed? I'd probably been far too deep in thought to do so, and that was yet another change I'd noticed since I had come here. Even in a few short months, where before any movement from her would have put me on guard instantly, I was relaxed enough to not feel as if she were going to pull some trick at any moment. It was a sobering notion… What else had begun to change in me? Was I really the same Kiros that had started out, or was I going to be something different when this was all over..? If that was true….

"Kiros? Hey, Kiros, you in there? You missed everything, you know!"

I pushed away her hand quickly, sitting up. What? I'd missed…. But.. "Wha-?"

"Guess who pulled through!!" and with that, all I could do was give a strangled 'urk' as, again, I was hugged, and again, I just tensed up with wide eyes, staring at her as if she'd grown another head sometime within our conversation. Gah, I would have to get used to that. Maya seemed to feel that hugging and such physical contact was something that friends could do and be comfortable with, but I was a far cry from being comfortable with much of any contact. It was something I didn't think I'd ever get out of, and it was fine with me. But I'd let Maya have her fun…

_Who had what…?_

She must have been talking about Salamander, bu- Wait, though! Salamander had pulled th- holy shit! With the sinking in of that tidbit of information, I probably couldn't have been more surprised if a train had crashed through the wall and hit me, and I didn't even have to make an effort to keep my eyes wide and blank, just completely frozen in the moment. Before that instant, I had hardly believed that the human male could do anything of such a scale, not really. I'd nearly condemned myself to living on this planet with Maya for the rest of my days, which in itself wasn't a horrible thing to contemplate. A far cry, however, from what I'd dreamed of as of late.

But dreams… dreams had a way of slamming into you at high speeds when you least expected it.

"H-how much…. again….?" That… had been… a lot of money on the line there… But I had to get my thoughts back together, so I shook my head just hard enough to rattle my thoughts back into place. Had this additional knowledge sunk in yet? Oh yes… with the idea that both Maya and I had quite a bit more resources than before came the awareness that the plan was moving forward, and with that came the sudden and unexplainable fear of change. Wasn't I the one that had wanted change? There was no turning back, and it was like Maya had said not long ago. 'Now or never.' If I didn't do this now, I was never going to be able to, and I'd regret it all my life.

"Enough for everything we need" her reply came with a grin, and I suppressed the urge to look at her like she was crazy. Now… wasn't she seeing how insanely difficult this would be?? Wasn't she in any way, shape, or form the least bit worried about how things would turn out? I gave myself no chance at harboring the illusion that things would run smoothly from now on; I wasn't that stupid. There were problems to consider, gathering the things we needed, governments to convince, things to make…. The sheer magnitude of all that needed to be done was just overwhelming. I couldn't even count how many ways the plan could go wrong, but….

"Hey, hey… Kiros, what's wrong?" Maya's voice broke through my thoughts, her tone and her question making me flick my eyes over to her, though little as she'd notice it with the absence of pupils. Along with the change in subject came the awareness of my back beginning to hurt, the dull ache spreading across my shoulders from where they were pressed into the floor. I could only be glad there was a rug here, and that I hadn't landed on hard concrete, something I knew all too well what landing on felt like. With the healing of my wounds from the fight, the old aches and pains in my shoulders had disappeared, perhaps one thing I could thank the disturbing technology for, but I had no wish to make new ones unless I had to.

"What?" my voice was almost indignant, and inwardly I winced. Great going, let's all sound much sharper than we intended, shall we? Even adding onto it, however, didn't seem to rid my voice of that tone. Damn. At that point I likely could have crawled under the bed to wallow in the mistake I knew I was making, likely ruining what should have been a rather cheerful and happy moment, but, like always, I kept talking. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong… why do you ask?"

Her eyes bored into mine, and I suddenly felt smaller than I was, nearly shrinking back from that gaze. Fear? No… well, perhaps it was a type of fear, mixed heavily with guilt, and disturbingly reminding me very much of long ago. I didn't like anyone looking at me like that, like they knew I was lying. I'd been accused of lying too many times, even when I wasn't. Most Irkens were afraid to lie, nowadays, and there was good reason… but that didn't stop the humans from telling us that we did it all the time. "Look at your hands…"

I did, the thought coming to me that just a few months prior, I would have refused to do even that. For Mouse, though… for Mouse there were exceptions. Her words weren't an order, nor were they said in a commanding tone, which softened the blow to my mind that had been caused by her expression. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. There had to be something wrong, especially as, while I looked over the strangely smooth contours of my hand, I saw that it was shaking. No matter how much I willed it to be still, it continued, seeming to mirror that state of my conscious in which I couldn't decide if winning a rigged lottery was a good or bad thing.

It was no wonder Maya had assumed what she did. As much as I scoffed at the idea, I likely looked as harried and overwhelmed as I felt. And I did feel it, to my bones, that no matter what we did, we wouldn't be able to stop mistakes. What those mistakes would result, I didn't know… and maybe that scared me the most.

"I…." My voice caught in my thought, and I swallowed. The movement was harder than it should have been, the lump there refusing to dislodge. I wondered distantly why things like this happened when I needed so badly to say something, but I doubted I would get an answer even if I tried. It was a part of nature, and something I couldn't help. I just needed to spit out the words as best I could. "Mouse, what if we make a mistake? What if something happens…? Are we really-"

"Kiros…" she stopped me with a hand, raising it up until her own was by mine. Her hands were strangely delicate. I could feel my brow furrowing deeply as I looked at it, my confusion making its way to my face. How was it that something that could hold so much weight and responsibility still look so natural, so soft? The pale sheen of her skin made mine look rough and ugly by comparison. "Prince Kiros, people make mistakes. We can do our best, and then no one can say we didn't try, okay?"

I could hear the slight impact, the delicate brush of tiny hairs and membrane against skin as my antennae fell against my head with the onset of but the first word. One simple word, and my world could come crashing down around me, only to be rebuilt again. Princes didn't 'do their best'. Princes just did… and somehow they knew all the answers.

_Do I know all the answers yet?_

"Do you think I can do it…?" the question whispered its way past my lips before I had the forethought to shove it back firmly into my brain, and I winced even as the last words emerged. Was there even a time I had been so sure that I was a Prince? The gang in the ally may have lost the fight… but did they win the war by making me lose the idea that I'd always thought -no, that I had always _known_- was true?

"You've never failed me before." Her words came with a shrug, and as she stood, it was only then that I realized that I was still sitting on the floor. I couldn't have moved my limbs any faster as I slowly rose, feeling suddenly light and heavy at the same time. The daze kept a hold on me firmly as I watched to see a pillow thrown onto my bed, landing haphazardly on the edge, about where it should have been had it stopped a foot or so to the side.

"Let's get some sleep, okay, Kiros? We've got a lot to do tomorrow… meetings to go to… things to design… Good night."

I only stared at my pillow, still in awe as my eyes both saw and didn't see the scene around me. Even when the light suddenly winked out, leaving me in darkness, I remained still, staring into the void long after my vision had adjusted, those words echoing in my head over and over again.

The strangest thing was… I didn't think she knew exactly how much they'd meant to me.

_I am Prince Kiros, and I can do this._

* * *

_YAY SELF CONFIDANCE_


End file.
